L is for
by xfang-girlx
Summary: Dead Diamond was the fourth and last victim of Beyond Birthday, in an attempt to surpass L. She wouldn't be alive if help hadn't arrived just in time. Now, a few months later, she meets L and they work together on a case involving a BB-copycat. Will the past, that happened not-so-long ago, haunt her to become a reality? Many intermingled one-shots. L/OC (Pre-Kira)
1. Lacerate

**A/N: **So I've been sick (still am - 5 days and counting :/) and my motivation to write chapters for my other stories has been really really low. This idea has been with me for a while so I decided to do something with my time and plan it. There are 57 one-shots planned (rate of upload to be determined). Rated M for violence (especially for this chapter). There will be happy ones and sad ones, this one is pretty morbid - so a warning I suppose. Also will contain spoilers for Death Note: Another Note - The Los Angeles BB Murder Case (haven't read it? I recommend it!). I wasn't able to add it into the summary but as it said, this is a story of lots of one-shots - some relevant, some not - that would form a story of some sort if put in order. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 2. Lacerate

v. tear or deeply cut

In Pasadena, L.A., there was a condo of the number 404. It had three bedrooms and in one, a woman started gaining consciousness. Normally her flatmates would also be waking up, but they were out of town and at some work convention that had details she didn't bother remembering. Conveniently she stayed by herself, instead of living with someone else for a couple of days. She was a college student who didn't have a job but was working towards a science degree. One more year to go and her course would be finished. All of that didn't matter anymore, because this wasn't the first time she had woken up this day and it was only eight in the morning.

Her eyes fluttered open but she quickly shut them tight. Luckily she was on her stomach so her lapse in control went unnoticed. The events that happened a few hours earlier, when she first woke up, were still clear in her mind. His face, the bag and the arm were flickering through her mind like a slide show. The only way to stop the images would be to open her eyes, but she couldn't afford to do that, not yet. He could still be in here, waiting.

She wished to be drugged again. Keeping her breathing low as if she were still unconscious, her ears concentrated on trying to hear any sounds that were around her. For a few minutes there was just silence, no footsteps or breathing, no sign of anyone being in the room with her. Did he have his fun and leave? She didn't feel pain anywhere, only her mind was still fuzzy because of the drug he gave her. She was about to move when she heard it, the faint clicking of her thumb turn lock. He was here, in her room.

"I know you've woken up Dee." His statement was made true when she shivered as his fingers stroked her back. He made a strange croaky laugh at her reaction. "Kya ha ha ha ha." She had never heard anyone laugh like it before, it sounded unnatural and cruel.

He had touched her skin, the skin of her back. It was then she noticed her attire consisted of only her underwear. Where did her clothes go? The awareness of the cold air made her shivering continuous. Being on top of her blankets didn't help either. Surprised that neither of her limbs were tied to anything, she turned around to face him. The dark circles underneath his eyes showed lack of sleep, or maybe it was just make up, a mask to hide his real self. This person she had never gotten to know. He sat himself on the bed next to her, bringing his knees to his chest, chewing on a thumbnail. She moved to the other end of the bed, too scared to move off of it.

"Why aren't you screaming?" He looked over at her, his eyes briefly looking at a spot above her head, but she knew nothing was there.

"I don't know." Taking one large gulp of breath, she opened her mouth to release a scream.

It was short lived when the noise that came out was muffled. At first he covered her mouth with his hand, shaking his head and clicking his tongue disapprovingly before producing a long thick piece of white cloth. Replacing his hand, he wrapped it around her, tying it at the back tightly so that it cut into the corners of her lips. She never liked pain and even the small stinging she felt, had tears gathering in her eyes. He made a move to wipe some escaping droplets but she leaned backwards. He used the distraction to tie her ankles together with another piece of the cloth he had with him. Bringing her to a stand, he pulled until she was at the foot of the bed, her back facing it. Pushing on her shoulders she fell to her knees, eye-level with his groin. Her eyes widened considerably at the thought of what he was going to make her do.

"I only want to surpass L, I am no psychopath."

L? The name seemed familiar to her but she couldn't remember where she had heard it. She decided to forget about it and just be pleased he wasn't going to rape her. Maybe this was just some sick fantasy of his instead? He walked away and picked up an object, she hadn't noticed it lying on the ground. When realising what it was, she truly started screaming, trying to be heard, but any noise she made was still muffled. Fear immobilised her as he walked back over and placed the whip-like weapon with many barbed tips at the end, near her knees.

"You don't have long to live Dead Diamond. Your life span is slowly running out."

The sound of her real name leaving his lips shocked her. She had only ever given him her nickname. He turned her around and began tying each wrist to a separate bedpost at the end of the bed, with more cloth he seemed to pull out of thin air. She wasn't paying attention as her eyes found the straw voodoo doll, nailed to the wall facing her door. It was placed just above the low headboard, around waist height. The man, who was now taking care in tying up her hair, was a murderer. The killer from what HNN news was calling the _Wara Ningyo Murders_. Other media would say he was the culprit of the _L.A. Serial Locked Room Killings_.

Her back was fully exposed to him, with the exception of her bra strap, when he was finished. She heard him pick up the weapon, swinging it in the air a few times away from her. Every time the whip made a sound, she flinched. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was about to happen and she dreaded it. The pain was sudden and excruciating to begin with, only to get worse with each hit. She was screaming, pleading and crying but he wasn't listening, too intent on the job he was doing. Pulling at the bedposts, she tried to get out of the way but the whip-tips made use of her movement and just brought more pain. Is this what his other three victims felt like when he was doing ghastly things to them?

"I drugged them also." He explained during each swing of the whip, answering her silent question. "They were out cold when I killed them. I want you to be different." If she wasn't in so much pain, she would've rolled her eyes at the tone he used. "We will be dying together, in less than an hour. I want you to feel the pain that I am about to feel."

She whimpered and felt the barbed tips dig into the skin on her back, ripping at the flesh with each flick and then hanging loosely before he had another go. He must've practiced with the weapon a lot because the only area he hit was between the base of her neck and lower back. The blood flowed downwards, stinging the fresh wounds even more, dripping onto the back of her legs and staining her panties. Her attempts to get free from the restraints weaken her and she was breathing heavily. It made the blood pump through her body at a faster rate and leaving the broken skin just as quickly. She started feeling faint and dizzy, welcoming the last few hits so she could finally pass out with blood loss and pain. He stopped while panting at the exertion he was putting into each swing, knowing she was close to her limit.

She tried to scream at him again, thinking up of every insult in her vocabulary, but her throat burned and was sore. Tears were freely streaming down her checks, probably leaving tear mark stains. So badly she wanted to fall unconscious, or even just have him kill her. _Anything_ would be better than the situation she was in now, with the murderer behind her. He had moved away from her, done with his torture. He was surprised at how long she had lasted, almost an hour. Time had meant nothing to her and the pain made it seem like an eternity had passed.

There was silence and it unnerved her, she didn't bother looking around and kept her forehead resting on the bed. Now that the whip had stopped wounding her, the intense pain subsided and there was just a very hurtful sting. She was scared of what was going to happen next, not really wanting to die. Maybe he had come to his senses? The screwing of a top sounded in one of the corners of the room behind her, the smell of petrol invading her nostril. Was there anything else in his bag that he still had to show her?

"It is my turn now. Goodbye."

What did he mean when he said it? Was he just going to leave her tied here? Liquid gurgled out of a bottle. Finally bringing up the courage to look she saw him drenching himself in the gasoline. Nope, she did not want to see this and turned to look at the straw doll. A clicking alerted her and for a brief second she thought he had unlocked the door, until she felt the heat. Every second passed slowly and she felt him move around her as the heat changed directions. He stopped at the corner furthest away from the door and her eyes flickered to his form, but she wished they hadn't.

His arms were flailing around and his eyes were staring at her. She knew he was experiencing immense pain. It was probably more painful than the wounds he inflicted on her. Looking around she saw puddles of gas and hoped that he would stay where he was and not burn down the room with her in it. A commotion was heard outside the room and a female shouting was out his name, banging on the door. How did she know he was here? She started screaming, trying to make the female aware there was another occupant in the room. A warning the lady gave them was not heeded and the gunshots that were fired burst the doorknob and lock off.

Her struggling stopped as the lady entered, covering her face to the heat. Hopes were dashed as she left the room, only to return with a fire extinguisher. The foam that left the nozzle covered everything and made her cry out. Although it was supposed to extinguish fire, it burned her cuts. She heard the talking of another woman, who left with the instructions to call all of the emergency departments. The lady that came was an FBI agent and she was thankful that it was now over.

Her binds were taken care of and she was moved to lie down on the bed, on her stomach. She refused the clothes offered, her back hurt too much and she didn't want to stain them with blood. When the white foam disappeared, she looked over to the man who tortured her. His whole body was charred and his clothes were burnt and almost missing. Red and black, it was all she could see. At first she thought he was dead, until he started speaking incoherently to the lady. The nightmare was over she could finally relax, but her eyes wouldn't close. Forcing them did nothing, so she contented herself with looking at the interaction between the FBI agent and the murderer.

"Rue Ryuzaki. I arrest you…"

As handcuffs were put on his wrists and a medical team entered the room she was able to smile. She was still in pain but she was alive. Dead Diamond did not die today as was predicted by Beyond Birthday. The FBI agent's actions saved her and increased her life span in the process. He recognised this as he saw her one last time before being carried out of the room on a stretcher. No words left his lips, which was probably because he was burnt. He would never forget this day because it signified L's victory.

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**A/N: **"Rue Ryuzaki. I arrest you…" - direct quote (is not all of it) from Death Note: Another Note - The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases. All rights go to NISIOISIN and also original concept of Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.


	2. Lunate

**A/N: **A fast update, enjoy! x

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L is for... - 38. Lunate

adj. crescent-shaped

It was a quiet night. A warm breeze drifted passed her, making her hair dance in the air. The sun had set many hours beforehand, she guessed it was close to midnight, if not after. The only thing lighting up the darkness was a radiant first-quarter moon. It lit her features as she stared up at the orb. She was lying on her back, the dark shadows of flowers and greenery surrounded her. If anyone tried to find her, she would be well hidden from them, just how she liked it.

There was an uncomfortable dull ache coming from her back. They weren't fresh wounds anymore, but the scars were going to last a lifetime. It wasn't painful but told her she had been on it for far too long. A couple of hours to be accurate, there was nothing to do inside, so she came out here. There was nothing to do here either, but the sight was pretty. She ignored the signs telling her to get up and stayed, content with facing the sky. Out here it was peaceful, with no worries and all the time to relax.

She was able to separate herself from life at that moment. No BB, no copycat, no murders and no L. The last thought was nixed instantly because she didn't want to _ever_ forget L. He was great man, maybe not the perfect role model, but he was someone that children should look up to. Children did, but they were all in a different country. A smile appeared on her features at the thought of them, until she heard the snapping of a twig nearby.

Stilling, she stayed quiet and wondered who was up here. Maybe another hotel resident wanted to see the garden on the roof in the dark? She would admit they would be crazy because the garden was much more beautiful during the day. Although it was unlikely, it was not impossible, a twenty-three percent chance. The number that entered her mind was made up but it had her shaking in silent laughter. _He_ was definitely rubbing off on her and she was one-hundred percent okay with it.

"D, are you out here?" It was L's voice and she could tell there was worry in it.

That didn't mean she would do something to notify him of her presence. If he was up here, then he was certain she was too. He would just need to find her, do some field work for once. He was always locked up in his room. Lights off, curtains closed. She knew this because she had been in there a couple of time, maybe _more_ than just a couple times. He always unlocked his door, around the time she left her room to come up to the roof. She would always go into his room, but tonight was different.

"D, you know I don't like it when you are out here by yourself." Less worry, more concern and unease. Even though they all meant the same thing, it only meant one thing to her. He would be keeping a closer watch on her, _again_. As if his restrictions weren't already enough.

A figure blocked her view of the moon above her. She definitely knew it was L now, his signature shaggy hair was illuminated by the light coming from the sky. His features were darkened and she couldn't see the look he was giving her, but she could guess it was a mix between distress and disappointment. Stars sparkled around his head in the night sky, so her attention moved to them. He didn't move from in front of the moon and was fine with just staring down at her. He was use to staying in a dark room with little light, so his eyes adjusted easily. It was one of the few times he saw a serene look on her face.

"I couldn't sleep." She looked back at him and reached out to him with a hand, waving it in front of his face. "Come down here with me."

He removed a hand from his jeans pocket and held onto hers. "You've had no problem stealing my bed when this happens before." Getting down with her, he moved around so that her head was resting on his stomach and they formed a T shape.

"It's not like you use it." She felt him absentmindedly playing with her hair, something he had done on several occasions. Whether it was out of habit, or a way of comfort, she did not know. "I wanted something different."

"Do you want me to get the room redecorated?" He asked with complete seriousness.

"You can't do that." She laughed at the preposterous idea.

He didn't understand her laughing. Did she really not think he could? He had plenty of resources and if it was something she wanted, he would get it done. "Yes I can."

"Shouldn't you be working?" She was curious to why he came up four storeys to get to the roof. She also wanted to change the subject.

"I'm taking a break."

She was confused. L _never_ took breaks, not unless he had some massive sugar craving and Watari wasn't around to serve him. He had given up trying to make her a slave after the first attempt. It had ended badly and left them in a very sticky situation. If Watari wasn't around he would usually just wait until the elderly man was available. He rarely left his room, with his computer in it, as it was. This was a very unusual situation, but she wasn't going to complain about it.

"No sweets?"

"What are you looking at?" It was his turn to change the subject. He _almost_ hated her for bringing up that he forgotten to bring some sugary supplements with him.

She pointed to the moon. "It is the only thing worth looking at out here." Realising what she said, she quickly sent him a glance. It was difficult in the position she was in. "I mean, the only thing worth looking at in the sky."

He had known what she meant. Unlike some people, he didn't need to have things dumbed down for his benefit. As he looked up at the ball made out of six different elements of the periodic table, a list of facts and trivia buzzed through his head at rapid rates. He didn't want to say them because he tried to seem normal when with her, most of the time it didn't work. She knew of all his quirks and still liked him. He couldn't have stopped the words from leaving his mouth if he tried.

"Did you know a survey was done and thirteen percent of the people who completed it thought that the moon was made out of cheese?" The year was 1988 and a whole population did the survey, but she didn't need to know these details.

"Do _you_ think it is made out of cheese?"

"The moon made out of a dairy product? Never!" He paused for a bit as if in deep thought. "Everyone knows it is more believable for the moon to be made up of marshmallows."

"Marshmallows?" She laughed but stopped after she felt him wince at the weight of her head.

"Yes, with that much cheese, it wouldn't stay afloat in the sky." Lifting a few strands of her hair so that it obscured his vision of the moon, he went onto his next fact. "Did you know only fifty-nine percent of the moon's surface is seen by us?"

She moved so that they were parallel and her head was on the left side of his chest. "Who sees the other forty-one percent?" The question was only a joke, like her previous one, but she wanted to see how he would answer it.

"Aliens." His hand went to stroking her arm while her hand gripped onto his white shirt.

"_You _believe in aliens?" He had said it seriously and she didn't know whether he truly thought it or not.

"Everyone knows that aliens exist." He pointed out various stars and called them different names until she was crying with laughter. He just shook his head at her. "Have you not seen Men in Black? It explains _everything_."

She shook her head at him. Movies were not her thing. She would rather immerse herself in a book for hours instead of watching a box and have the images provided. Books let her imagination run wild. She hadn't read a good book in a long time, everything she read now was research. It was research for this case thing, or research for that case thing. She decided, when this case was over, she will buy many books and just lock herself in a room and read them all. His voice brought her out of the thoughts in her mind.

"Did you know the moon is twenty-five percent the size of the Earth?"

Her eyes lit up with excitement. "Yes, I do know that!" She thought back to one of her boring astronomy classes, it had been the easiest fact to remember. "But normal people would just say quarter, not _twenty-five percent_."

"But _quarter_ isn't a percentage." He was still pleased she knew _something _related to the object she had been staring at previously. He finally caught onto the first part of her words. "Are you calling me abnormal?"

"Well you never denied it the first time I called you weird."

It was back when she had first started learning about his funny quirks. Some of them she thought were adorable, but you could never get away with calling a man that, it would ruin their pride. Did L even have pride? With the way he carried himself and dressed, she didn't think so. She kept the thought to herself, just in case. Not wanting to ruin something that could quite possibly be there. _Adorable_, it still made her laugh though.

"That was before…" Before they were _together_, became an item as _normal_ people would call it.

He continued to drone on about different facts concerning the moon. She couldn't help but think how much his voice started to resemble her old astronomy lecturer. It was a class she found herself falling asleep in constantly and had no relevance towards the degree. Slowly her eyelids started to get heavier, soon she was asleep and her breathing was shallow. He purposefully went on about different trivia. Her worded replies turned into a few nods or the shaking of her head, which turned to nothing. She was finally resting. He lifted her head to get out from under her and then picked her up to go back into the hotel. This was done easily, he was much stronger than the scrawny look he had.

The truth was, he had finished another on-the-side case and wanted to celebrate with her. D, he refused to call her by her real name, especially after her insistence that he didn't. He had gone to her room, to find it empty. After looking through all the camera footage he had set up in the hotel, he saw she had gone to the roof. Being relieved that she was safe, he had forgotten all about his victory of catching another criminal in the name of justice. She needed sleep so he got her so bored, that she had nothing else to do. Who actually cares about the natural satellite in the sky?

Instead of going to her room, he laid her down in his bed. He watched as she curled up under the covers, facing the flickering light of his monitor. Another message meant another possible case. The cases would be never-ending and he would not stop solving them until his very last breath. He brushed away her fringe so he could lightly kiss her forehead. Needing more, he bent down again, this time to kiss her lips. They upturned in a smile and he heard her whisper his name, a goofy grin appeared on his face and he was glad no one was near to see. It turned solemn just as quickly.

"All I ever want is for you to be safe, please stay safe."


	3. Litter

**A/N: **Here is a quickish update, enjoy! x

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L is for... - 18. Litter

n. scattered rubbish

As she walked into his hotel room, the first thing she noticed was all the candy wrappers on the ground and no L in sight. Looking over to his bedroom, the door was closed and there was no light coming from under it. Usually this meant that no one was in, but she knew better. Trying to open the door, she was faced with resistance. It was locked from the inside. She could guess who the one to have locked it was.

She tapped on the door lightly, not wanting to be disruptive, and spoke gently. "L, are you in there?"

There was no reply. Was he ignoring her? She gazed back at the wrappers on the floor. They were different colours and sizes. All of them had one thing in common. Whatever was inside them had contained sugar, lots of it. If she squint her eyes, the mess could be seen as a trail leading from the kitchen to where she was, outside L's bedroom. As her attention was diverted she didn't notice the door open and close behind her, revealing the guy she called out for earlier. He stood there silently watching her until he had enough and cleared his throat. She jumped and turned around to glare at him.

"You wanted me?" He asked, nonchalantly.

Normally he would act somewhat annoyed with her if she interrupted something important. So maybe he wasn't working in there and actually watching porn? It would also explain the locked door and how she could see a tissue peeking out one of the pockets of his jeans. She giggled at the thought of L not being the world's greatest detective but just your regular everyday seedy guy who happens to have lucky guesses. He stared at her with his naturally wide eyes, probably caused by being in the dark for long hours at a time over the years. She was looking at him, but her eyes were glazed over as she thought of her imaginary scenario of him. He cleared his throat again and she remembered his question.

"I don't want _you_. I want you to clean up your mess." She waved an arm around the room they were in.

His gaze went to all the candy wrappers on the ground. He licked his lips at the memory of eating them all. His mouth salivated because he knew Watari was out shopping for more. L felt as if he hasn't been working as efficiently as he used to. He looked back at D, who was glaring at each wrapper separately. She was the only difference that he could identify from back when he was solving the BB case, to now with the BB-copycat case and all the other cases in-between.

He also thought back to an incident a month ago when she had been having a sugary treat. He nodded to himself, agreeing that it was her fault and her distractions that caused him to be off his game. She took his nod as agreeing with her and smiled, thinking he was actually going to pick up his mess. His next words informed her that he had the exact opposite in mind. It was something that would set her off to try and argue with him.

"Don't count on it. Watari will do it when he comes back." A rare smile appeared on his features. "Feel free to pick them up yourself. I see no problem where they are right now."

"You're a spoilt child L." She stated sourly. "That is all you are."

He made no sound to disagree with her because maybe she was right. He knew that he relied on Watari more than an average twenty-two year old guy would rely on anyone. For a second he considered pretending to throw a tantrum just to see what her reaction would be, but only for one second, he knew it would be childish to go through with it. He decided to just state three facts that would get her riled up. Holding up a closed fist, he watched her flinch. Did she not know there were only three reasons for why he would hit a girl? She was doing none of them.

"I'm a genius. I catch criminals. I can do what I want." As each statement was said, one finger was revealed until only his little finger and thumb were touching.

"Look at me! I'm the greatest detective L." Speaking of childish things to do, he watched her get closer to him. "I haven't evolved passed the caveman stage." She started mimicking him, using a voice much deeper and what she hope sounded intelligent but held lots of sarcasm in it. "I only have one shirt and pair of jeans in my wardrobe." She poked the middle of his chest and was about to poke the middle of his jeans but she realised _where_ she would be poking and diverted her finger just in time, stabbing the hand which was still in a pocket.

"You sound nothing like me D."

She ignored him and continued her imitation. "I wear make-up to get people to think I have insomnia." Licking both her thumbs, she grabbed his face and started wiping the bags under his eyes. Trying a bit harder when nothing was changing, she started talking in her normal voice again. "Nope that didn't work, you really do have insomnia."

"Yes I do." He pulled out the tissue that was in his pocket and waved it around a bit before trying to get her dried up saliva off his face. "Thanks for that…" He muttered, putting the tissue away.

She poked her tongue out at him in another childish manner. "I'm going to make sure Watari cuts down your sugar supply."

No sugar meant there wouldn't be any brain food. With no brain food, L would become malnourished because his brain will start feeding on all everything else it will find. He couldn't let that happen. Watari wouldn't let that happen, would he? There was no way his caregiver, the man who he practically called a father, would do that to him, right? L knew that D could be very persuasive if she wanted and if she reasoned with Watari about his own wellbeing, the elderly man might just listen to her.

"I doubt he will listen to you." It was a lie, because he was only sixty-two percent sure that he would listen to her.

Watari entered to room carrying shopping bags filled up with sugar and sweets. "Is something the matter?" He was surprised that L was out of his room this early in the afternoon. But with D in the room, some of the mystery in his mind came to light, a small smile played on his lips.

"Yes!"

"No."

She shouted and he spoke indifferently, both were done at the same time. They turned to each other and glared, well she was the only one who glared. L looked at her seemingly bored. He was, but his eyes flickered to the bags that Watari were holding. He would have to wait until she was gone before he could have any supplements. Any day now, she will start talking to him in a stern voice, stating all the bad ingredients in the food he ate and what they would do to him. She did not understand the truth about his brain.

Watari chuckled and went to the kitchen, placing the bags on the counter before coming back into the room with an empty rubbish bag. He started picking up all the candy wrappers, not minding the job as L's caretaker. Watari didn't have any children of his own and enjoyed being the paternal figure in the detective's life. He somehow knew that L wouldn't pick any of his mess up, though he had never tried ordering him to do so. Disliking dirty rooms, he was always quick to get one clean.

"No Watari! You put that down!" She scolded the elderly man, stomping up to him. She just stopped herself from reaching over to him and tapping the back of his hand like someone would a small child for touching something they shouldn't be.

"Dee, I would like to get this done now, if you don't mind."

"I do mind!" She knew she was being rude, but L needed to learn that he couldn't do everything he wanted to. She grabbed the rubbish bag from the man and tipped out the contents.

"She's only been here for a couple of months and already thinks she owns the place." L stated going back into his room. "Now some of it is_ her_ mess."

As soon as she heard the door shut, she went back to his door and started pounding on it. "L, you come back here! This rubbish is yours and I will make sure you pick it up yourself."

She failed to notice that all of it was on its way to being cleaned as Watari went to get another rubbish bag and continued working behind her. He commended her on what she was trying to do but knew it was a lost cause. The only work L did was solving the cases he personally picked out and cleaning himself. Watari shuddered at the thought of the latter not being done by the guy, or help being needed for it. Sure he loved the boy, but not _that_ much.

"You're so annoying D." She heard L mutter on the other side of the door. Was he just standing behind the door for cover?

"I'm annoying?" The words were screeched out in a manner which would be seen as annoying, though she was oblivious to it. "You're the one who is on a sugar high."

The door inched opened and he peered out at her, she could see the light of the monitor behind him. It was too far away that she couldn't make out any of the writing on it. He was in the way of her trying to see anything else in there, but she knew what was where because she had been in his room a few nights ago. She remembered the large double bed, it was bouncy and one would just sink into it when lying down. It was a shame for a bed like it to go to waste because he never slept in it much. She wished the bed in her hotel room was similar, but she only had a single.

"My brain consumes the sucrose before it gets that far." His eyebrow furrowed. "I've never had this _sugar high_ you speak of."

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Never?" Without waiting for a reply she took use of his figure and thrust the rubbish bag at him. "Just one piece, I want to see you pick up _something_."

"Okay fine. If it will get you to leave me alone and stop being annoying."

As soon as Watari heard L's reply, he instantly stood up straight. One candy wrapper was next to his feet and he was just about to pick it up. Not a chance, if Dee actually convinced him to do it, Watari was going to let L do it, with no complaints at all. Though what L did at first took everyone by surprise, especially her. He had bent down and picked her up so her stomach was on his bony shoulder.

"L put me down!" She squealed slapping his back as she hung limply to try and reduce the pain his shoulder caused her stomach.

He slapped her ass and received a shriek from her, which almost made him drop her to cover his ears. "Don't hit me and _you_ told me to pick something up." He dropped her onto the couch, careful to make sure she didn't go on her back. "I picked you up. I see no other rubbish."

"Uh, there is one more piece L." Watari voiced, he had gone to make some tea and coffee for everyone, placing the tray on the table. "Over there." He pointed to a spot just beyond the couch where a single purple candy wrapper lay.

L walked over to it and crouched down, knees touching his shoulders. Using his thumb and forefinger he picked up the piece of rubbish. If someone else were to see this, they may have thought he didn't want to be touching it, but both people in the room knew it was just his way to do things. Slowly he placed it in the rubbish bag and stood, looking over at the two drinking their hot drinks.

"Happy?" He asked, staring at her grin.

"Very." She took a sip of her coffee, before pushing a bowl towards his cup. "Sugar?"


	4. Libra

**A/N: **This L-shot is dedicated to Scat Cat (a friend's cat), may he R.I.P. (Though this seems like a really bad thing to say after the previous sentence - like always) Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 48. Libra

n. the seventh sign of the zodiac

She applied the last of her make-up and repositioned the veil that was on top of her head. She thought she looked amazing in the reflection. Her hands moved over the white dress she had on, an attempt to smooth out all the cresses in it. Looking in the mirror for a final time she fluffed her hair and left the bathroom, careful to pick up the bottom of the dress so she wouldn't trip on it. L was sitting on his bed, wearing his usual attire.

"What happened to the suit?" She asked, not seeing the clothing pieces anywhere in the room.

Before she went into the bathroom to get herself ready, she had made L change into a specific suit of her choice. Knowing something like this was bound to happen, she tried to get done as quickly as she could. _Quick_ ended up being close to an hour, she couldn't help all the detail that was involved and wanted to look perfect for the occasion. Now looking at him in a shirt and jeans, she probably would've been better off doing only a mediocre job.

"I threw it out." He stood up and took her hands in his. "I'm not going to be your zombie groom."

"But look at you!" She went to point out his _perfect_ attributes. "You have the hair and the gaunt look going." She pouted when he refused to get changed, it had been difficult the first time and now it was impossible. "Now who's going to marry me?"

"That person will only be me, but not tonight." He sat back down on the bed, bringing her with him. "Oh and by the way D, when we get married, you aren't going to be in charge of anything."

She pouted some more. "Why not?"

"_This_ is why."

"What is wrong with how I look?"

_Nothing. _He gazed over to her, his eyes roaming up and down her body. There _was _nothing wrong with the way she looked and would happily marry her as they were, it actually disturbed him how good she appeared as a zombie bride. Her hair was teased to the point where she looked as if she had been electrocuted. Her make-up was done in a way to make her look bruised and gaunt-like. To top it all off, she was wearing a wedding dress, it was torn like the suit she had got him to wear and had splotches which looked like real blood on it. If zombies went around looking like D, he wouldn't mind running into them at all.

"You look scary." L nodded, he reached up to touch her hair. He didn't like that it couldn't twirl around his finger. "So scary in fact, that you would make at least three percent of the criminals I've caught, cower with fear."

She made a face at him. "That isn't very many."

"I'm quite positive that the rest would be taken over by demented lust filled fantasies." He nodded again, this time playing with the veil.

She started moving around the room, looking for the suit he said he had thrown out. Not wanting to believe he did, she searched for a few minutes, but nothing was found. She did have a backup in place, just in case something like this happened. It wasn't a suit but another item entirely. Going into a drawer filled to the top with white shirts, she pulled out a mask that was hiding underneath them all. Smiling she turned around and showed him it.

"At least wear this." She handed him a mask. It looked like a baby who would be sucking on a lollipop or thumb if one was there.

L looked at the mask, turning it over in his hands multiple times. He couldn't find anything wrong with it, although it wasn't appealing, he would prefer wearing this than the torn suit he had been in earlier. D was staring at him, waiting for a reaction of some sort. He placed the elastic around his head and slapped the mask on. Positioning it so he could see out of the eye holes, he saw her smile grow. There was only one problem he could come up with concerning the mask. _How am I going to eat cake with this thing on?_

"How do I look?" His voice was muffled, but she understood him completely.

"Just like the baby you are." She laughed before taking his hand. "C'mon."

"Where are we going?" He asked as they left his hotel room.

Ignoring his question, she led him to her hotel room where music could be heard inside. She had a feeling he knew what was in her room because he would've seen footage from the cameras. The way he acted like he didn't know what was going on, made her happy. L had a lot of funny and weird quirks but most of the time he only had good intentions at heart. That was only most of the time, the other times he was being manipulative to catch criminals.

"What is this?" He asked as she was just opening the door.

They entered she shouted at him while throwing her hands in the air. "Happy Birthday! Surprise!" She laughed when he winced at her loudness.

Every sort of surface had balloons and crepe paper. The ceiling, the walls, even the floor was covered. Watari was sitting on the couch, controlling the music. It was their three person party. L's eyes were glued to only one thing in the room and it wasn't D. In the middle was a huge layered cake. He licked his tongue, looking back to her. He thought back to the time he tried convincing her just how good sweets were.

He would admit she looked good in a wedding dress and he wouldn't mind seeing her in one again, the next time walking down the aisle instead of the hotel hallway. But he would prefer it if she was inside the cake, jumping out of it covered in the sugary goodness. _Yes._ He licked his lips again. _That would be sweet._ She handed him a spoon and motioned for him to get closer to the cake. He put the spoon down, resting it on one of the layers and took off the mask to lick some of the icing straight off. Watari did well this time, the cake was perfect.

"Let's go out." He said it so suddenly that she took a second glance at him as if he would repeat himself.

"But L, we…" She didn't know how to say the rest of it. Was he really asking her out _again_?

"_Outside_." He said it slowly as if speaking with someone who wasn't familiar with English. He put the mask back on, so his voice became muffled again. "Let's go outside."

_Oh_.She awkwardly laughed at her own stupidity. Of course he meant outside. _Duh_. Didn't he want to stay and get more acquainted with the cake? Looking over at Watari, who stopped playing music, he just assured them he would be fine and wanted to go to sleep early anyway. They left the hotel and walked the surprisingly busy streets. Little kids were all dresses up in costumes and going door-to-door with their caregivers, shouting out 'trick-or-treat'. She thought it was cute but L started to get jealous at all the kids getting their yummy sweets, so he led her away from them and towards the town's cemetery.

"I don't think we should go in there."

She could think of a lot of reasons to not enter. It was dark and they didn't have any light source with them. The gates were tall, scary looking _and_ locked. Not to mention it was All Hallows' Evening. Every single superstition entered her mind. The biggest one about how on this night, their world and the world of ghosts were at its closest. She really didn't want to be at a graveyard tonight. L didn't seem to be fazed as he took out a torch and lock pick from his pocket.

"Nonsense, it will be fun." He held out the torch for her. "I need you to hold this for me and point it at the lock."

She grabbed it and did what he asked, her hands were trembling. "I now understand what you do for fun and what I do for fun are two completely different things."

_Click_._ Creeeeaak_. For someone who worked towards catching criminals, he just committed a misdemeanour. There was an eerie silence after the gate was opened. L took the torch from her and flashed it inside. There were plenty of gravestones seen and he pulled her forward with him. She held onto his arm in a tight grip, afraid that if she let go he would disappear and she would be by herself. A rustling sound was heard from beside them and she screamed, cutting the circulation in his arm and also hurting his ears.

"What is that?" She asked as more rustling was heard and L moved the light of the torch to a bush.

"It is just the wind." He surmised.

"The wind? There is no wind!" She whispered. "We're going to die..."

The bush continued to move until something jumped out from it. She already had a scream waiting to be released in her throat and she let it go. The sound cut through the dead night and L had to hold her to him, trying to get her to calm down. His shoulders were shaking, not because he was scared but with laughter. It was just a cat, a black cat. The cat meowed at the disturbance and trotted in front of them, deeper into the cemetery.

"Bad luck, we have bad luck!"

"No I don't think so." L said, thinking it was best if they left the graveyard. "I saw some white on the cat, so it doesn't count."

The streets were deserted on the way back to the hotel. Everyone probably got scared at all the sounds she had made. L had put an arm around her waist, keeping her close to him, just in case anymore animals decided to make themselves known in spooky manners. He was still amused at what happened earlier, but stopped laughing after his ribs hurt from her elbowing him. He stopped her from moving when they were outside the lobby of the hotel, getting her to face him instead.

"I believe that I am entitled to a birthday kiss, I still haven't received one from you and we only have four percent of the day to go." He removed the mask, having it sit on the side of his head.

"A kiss?" She playfully pecked him on the lips. "There you go."

He shook his head. "That won't do. I meant something like this."

He pressed his lips to hers. He had stopped being hesitant with her but this kiss was still soft to begin with. When she responded, he deepened it, caressing her tongue with his own. Her arms moved so they were around his neck and she pressed herself against him. His hands stayed on her hips, he was afraid that if he moved them, he wouldn't be able to control his actions. He didn't want to get done for indecent exposure or find out if there were any voyeurs in the dark.

"How was that?" She asked, slightly breathless when they broke apart.

L shrugged his shoulders as if it was nothing. "It could've been better…"

"Well I do have one more present for you before midnight." With one hand she interlinked their fingers.

"What is it?"

"You'll have to find out when we get back to your room. That is if we make it back in time."

L isn't known for moving fast, but she thought that he did very well at picking up his speed. He didn't have the patience to wait for the elevator to come down to the ground floor, so took the stairs. She was dragged behind him, having to go just as fast to prevent falling over on the steps. The cake was in her hotel room and he would've preferred going in there, but he didn't want to waste time turning off the cameras. So he went into his room. This would be one of the only times where he actually had a proper use for the lock on his bedroom door.


	5. Laboratory

**A/N: **Here's another L-shot. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 6. Laboratory

n. a room equipped for scientic experiments or research

They were walking down the hallways of the hotel together. He was slouched over and walking at a terribly slow pace. She had trouble slowing down to stay a tiny bit behind him. There were a couple of reasons she didn't want to walk in front of him. Firstly she had no idea where he was going, so she needed to follow him. Secondly she was in a mini skirt and didn't want to give him any sort of invitation. Who knows what sort of pervert he could be?

She found herself observing him and not being subtle about it either. His skin was incredibly pale, almost matching the white shirt he was wearing. He obviously didn't go out in the sun much and also was awake all hours of the day and night. As shown by the dark circles beneath his eyes showing lack of sleep. Did he really suffer from insomnia? Or did all the cases he took on become more important than his own wellbeing? It could always be makeup but she wasn't brave enough to make sure.

Her eyes glazed over as she continued comparing the similarities between the man beside her and the one she thought she had known. Rue Ryuzaki. Or as she was told, he was better known as Beyond Birthday. She laughed humourlessly, gaining a sanity worrying look from L. _Beyond Birthday_. It was a name just as crazy as her one. She had been told that his real name was unknown and it was something he called himself. So only her and his victims had senseless parents to truly name them weirdly.

Having her attention elsewhere, she didn't realise that L had stopped walking, to stand in front of an elevator. It was only when she felt something pulling on her skirt when she saw his hand attached to it. _A pervert after all_. Was it too much trouble to lift his arm and grab her by the shoulder? No, he had to pull on something flimsy, maybe hoping it would fall off? She shook her head, not needing to think badly of him, it wasn't his fault he was socially inept. Or was it?

"Where are we going?" She asked as she tried to remove his hand from her skirt, it was as if he was holding on for dear life.

He stayed silent, watching the numbers of the elevator going to the ground floor and waiting for it to come back up again. "You'll find out soon enough."

"Well can you let go please?"

His hands instantly released their hold on her skirt. "I'm sorry. I didn't notice I was still holding onto it." He continued to stare at her skirt and she tried to resist putting her hands in front of it. "Don't you own something more colourful?"

She looked from his plain white shirt and faded jeans to her black skirt. Did he not notice she was wearing a red top, or were her boobs not big enough for him to stare at those too? "When you change your clothes, I will change mine."

The elevator dinged opened and they walked inside, thankfully it was empty. She watched L press the 'B' button, although she knew it stood for basement, it was still ironic in her mind. Why were they going down to the basement? She wanted to ask him but didn't want to give him an excuse to look at her, she had enough of his staring in that short time to last her the rest of the day and night, maybe the next day as well.

The hotel was only ten storeys high, miniature compared to some, and they had been in L's hotel room on the sixth floor. The walls inside the elevator were reflective, so she stared at the ground, not wanting to accidently catch his gaze. She was glad to see carpet on the floor and not more mirrors, the last thing she needed was for him to be even more perverted. There was an unbearable silence between them, but not one she wanted to break. Eying the red emergency stop button she wondered how he would react if she pushed it. Her fingers twitched, as if daring herself to do it, but she kept them still.

They watched the numbers above blinking until they reached their destination. She started getting scared when the doors didn't automatically open, but saw him press the floor buttons in a certain order before the doors did open. Was it a secret password? She was sure to remember the exact order, who knows whether she would want to sneak down here again. He gave no explanation to what he just did and just stepped out. There was no more leading needed though, because they had arrived.

"We are here." L stood to the side and let her have full view of the room.

At first she thought she was in a dream. Having given up her education after the incident with BB, she never thought she would find herself in a laboratory. The room was large and open, with few tables in it. Shelves lined every wall apart from the one with the elevator on it. This place would make even the most elite of scientists jealous. All the equipment was state of the art. It must've cost a fortune, along with all the chemical bottles she could see on the far wall.

Her expression amused L as he stared at her. If he had to compare it to anything, it would be with himself. He could imagine that if he was more expressive and was inside a candy shop, being told that he could have it all. His face would be similar to hers, except he had much shorter, darker hair and was manlier looking as well. He read all her results for previous exams before she dropped out, she would definitely be a great asset.

As much as she wanted to examine everything in detail, she knew she was breaking four important rules just by standing there. But there was no uptight teacher here, ready to punish anyone who broke the lab protocol. Her curiosity definitely won as soon as she spotted a lab coat and some plastic goggles. She rushed over to them and put them on, using an extra pair of goggles to keep her long hair up. Untying her sandals, she found a pair of gumboots and wore those too. Now she might've looked ridiculous, but she was ready to explore.

She went from testing out the Bunsen burners to looking through the microscopes. There were many glass beakers, test tubes and vials. Would she be able to use everything in here? Why did he bring her here? The chemicals were next on her list of things to check out. All sorts of different sized bottles were on the shelf, acids and bases alike. This whole place was amazing to her and time didn't exist while she was still in the room.

Then she remembered that L was probably still standing there waiting for her. How much time had passed? It could've been hours. She looked over to the elevator, but he wasn't there. She had expected him to be staring at her intently. Did that much time pass that he got bored and left without saying anything? She started to panic, how was she supposed to get out of here? Sure she was having a blast, but there was no food in here. The water from the tap probably wasn't drinkable either.

"I'm going to die here." She muttered to herself, cleaning all of the equipment she used and about to put it away neatly.

"What makes you say that D?"

Her scream filled the room. The tray she had been holding, only centimetres away from the shelf, was dropped. Chemicals spilled and glass shattered. Lucky she had been wearing all her protective gear, or else she would have more scars on her. L was right beside her, looking at her as if nothing out of the ordinary happened. He was wearing a lab coat, glasses and also boots. As she stared at his attire he started talking again.

"Now we both look like idiots." He stared at her before adding. "But I think you look more like a stripper."

She looked down at herself and ended up agreeing with him. The coat was long enough to cover her short skirt and also only buttoned up to show the beginnings of her cleavage, since she had been wearing a low cut top. If someone walked in here, they would probably think she was naked underneath the coat. L just seemed like your typical mad scientist. His hair was all over the place and the lack of sleep suited it. Many a time she had missed out on sleep to finish off an experiment while she was in college.

"This place is yours if you want it." L stated nonchalantly.

"Really?" Instead of screaming, she squealed.

Without putting any thought into it, she rushed up to him and placed her arms around his neck. Effectively hugging him and scattering the mess on the floor. Before he could respond, she quickly pecked his lips. Did she just kiss him? He didn't believe it and she didn't believe it. While her cheeks started to redden, L placed a couple of fingers on his lips, as if trying to feel some sort of lip indent on them. He grinned which didn't help with her blushing and only made it worse.

"Only on one condition, though if you give me another much longer kiss that condition might not be needed."

She berated herself for kissing him so soon and believing his first words. "Of course, what is the condition?"

"No kiss?" He looked a bit saddened and placed his thumb to his lips, it looked like he was chewing on the nail. "I want to know something first." He waited for her to signal for him to continue before talking again. When she nodded, he asked. "Why does someone who is an honour student with only one year left of their degree, suddenly drop out?"

"You already know the answer to that." He may not actually know the reason, but he should be smart enough to guess it.

L nodded. "I want to hear you tell me."

"I needed to make a new start after what happened three months ago." She didn't believe that he_ really_ wanted to hear her say it. L was a famous detective, one who never showed his face knowingly to the public. He had a reason for everything, no matter how little it seemed. Apparently there must've been one for that question as well. "So what is the condition?"

"I've already told you about the BB-copycat killer. I know you would be a big help to this case, _especially_ after what I have watched you do for the last two hours."

Her eyes widened. Had it really been that long? How had L not fallen asleep with boredom? _Oh right, he's an insomniac._

"This laboratory…" He gestured to the room around them. "It is useless to Watari and I, but not to _you_." He put both of his hands on her shoulders. "I want you to help me with this case and together we can catch the killer."

She opened her mouth to respond but he spoke before she could get anything out.

"It isn't a decision to take lightly. If you agree to help me with this case, you agree to help me with any case I take on." They walked to an area to the side and disposed of all of their gear. "You will end up spending the rest of living days working as justice. There will be no way to quit this job."

As he put everything in perspective, her agreeing to it turned into indecisiveness. She really wanted to help with this latest criminal but to throw her life away to spend the rest of it with L? It wasn't as if she had much of a life anyway. After he found her, she probably lost her job as a waitress and bartender. She wouldn't be surprised if he ended up paying them to fire her. More time was needed, before she made her final decision. Maybe she could just skip the condition?

"L, how about that kiss you originally wanted?"


	6. Limousine

**A/N: **This one isn't as sweet and cute as the last few ones have been, but it isn't a terrible one either. Enjoy! x

* * *

L is for... - 34. Limousine

n. a large, luxurious automobile

She was standing next to the hunched over detective, outside the hotel in the blistering hot weather. He had told her there was something important he wanted her to do but never specified what it was. Wiping away more sweat which lined her brow, she began to regret that she agreed. He appeared to be unaffected by the heat even though he was wearing a long sleeved shirt and denim jeans. Glaring at him, she pulled at the thin strapped top that was sticking to her skin.

As she saw a limousine turn the corner and come towards them, she expected it to stop. This was L's main mode of transport and she had travelled in one, many times already. He opened the door for her, letting her enter the vehicle first and it made her wonder where Watari was. She obviously wasn't moving fast enough because she felt his hands push her behind. Falling onto the floor, he picked her up to sit beside him once he had entered. L carried on holding her hand, enjoying the way it felt in his grasp. All she cared about was how the air conditioning was cooling her down.

"Where are we going?" She asked, looking out the window at the moving streets.

"I'm taking you to prison D." He was being serious but decided to elaborate because of her head whipping in his direction with a confused expression on her features. "I need your help for the case. Only you can do this."

"I will do anything to help you out." She smiled at him, waiting to be told what she was going to do. This was different to her usual lab work and it intrigued her.

L squeezed her hand. "That's what I thought you would say."

He reached for a laptop that was on the seats opposite them and opened it. After a few seconds the screen flickered to life and she could see many images. All were different angles of one room, which looked like it was inside the prison. It was a room where people go to have conversations with a single prisoner, without the fibreglass window and telephone. There was no one in there but she could see two sets of empty handcuffs around each back leg of a lone table.

"Will I be going in there?" She pointed to the screen.

"Yes. You will need to speak with someone who might know how to decide which one of our two BB-copycat suspects is the culprit."

"Who will I be talking to?" She asked with her eyes still on the images. She was hoping to catch a glimpse of the prisoner before they reached the prison.

"You will find out soon." He took some strands of her hair and twisted them between his thumb and forefinger. "I should've told you to wear something more appropriate."

She looked down at her thin top and short shorts. _It would've made me feel less vulnerable_, she thought as her sandaled feet tapped the floor. The limousine stopped and she saw the tall barbed concrete walls of the prison out the window. She froze and didn't let go of his hand when the door on her side opened. It could've been unwillingness to go into the unknown or she just had a bad feeling about how everything was going to pan out.

L noticed her hesitation. "Remember, I will be watching everything here."

_I have to do this… for L_. She nodded and looked at the laptop one more time. The room was still unoccupied. Before leaving the vehicle, she roughly grabbed his face and kissed him. She shoved her tongue into his mouth, wanting to have some sort of dominance over him. He was surprised, not knowing what possessed her to do such a thing, but he gladly responded by pulling her to him. The space inside the vehicle started to feel quite cramped. After a few minutes, she pulled away and looked at him sheepishly as a light blush appeared on her cheeks.

"I'd rather you kiss me like that when you get back." His smile and eyes held a promise. She exited before being able to back out of the job she was set.

As she walked up to the massive prison doors, she took one look behind her and saw L talking into a microphone. The door of the limousine was still open and she turned back around when she saw him looking her way. She thought back to his parting words, she felt that maybe there would be no going back once she entered the prison. Quickening her pace, she let nothing deter her. L didn't like it when time was wasted and she wasn't going to give him a reason to be annoyed with her.

A guard greeted her when she was inside the building and she followed him as he started walking away from her. The hallways were long and seemed never-ending. She was finally led to a door with a different guard standing in front of it. They conversed lowly and the second guard nodded. He opened the door and gestured for her to enter.

"Are you not coming in with me?" She wanted to panic, but her voice was calm.

"No I'm not Miss. We've been told to leave you alone in the room with the prisoner."

She assumed they were orders from L and probably what he was saying through the microphone. The prisoner was in the room she entered and at first all she could see was the he was blindfolded. His arms were outstretched as each wrist was connected to a separate leg. The next thing she noticed were the healing blisters on his face and arms. She cursed L when she figured out who the prisoner was. She should've guessed it from the beginning. He purposefully kept this information from her and probably waited until she was away from the images on the laptop before getting him to enter the room.

"Beyond Birthday." She spoke with abhorrence in her voice.

He smiled when hearing his name and recognising her voice, ignoring the tone used. "Is that you Dee?" His voice was croaky, as if his throat was dry. "Too bad I'm blindfolded. I would like to be able to see you again."

"There's a copycat out there, killing just like you did." She refused to acknowledge him more than was needed. "Did you have any successors?"

He grimaced when hearing her words. "No. I worked alone. I couldn't afford to have any liabilities."

"Do the names-"

"If L is on the case, you don't need my help." It looked like he contemplated banging his head on the table but didn't feel like hurting himself any further. "He was smart enough to figure out my case, he will be smart enough to solve this one. This one can't possibly be as smart as me."

She knew that what he said was true and it made her wonder why L wanted her to talk to BB in the first place. They already had the two possible suspects. There were other ways to find out which one was _the_ one. Using the other chair in the room she sat at the table, careful to stay clear of his bounded ankles. She may as well ask him some questions of her own, those she wanted answered. It never occurred to her_ that_ was reason she was here. If he had asked her to speak with BB up front, she would've said no. So he did the next best thing and tricked her, something he was good at doing.

"Why did you use the alias Rue Ryuzaki?"

"L is the best detective around, because of that reason, the letter L symbolises being the greatest." BB started laughing in his maniac way. "It is the ultimate name – L. L."

"Why me?" Her eyes prickled with tears as she thought back to the torture he inflicted on her. "Why did you do that to me?"

"I never wanted to get acquainted with anyone when I came to Los Angeles. You just happened to be at the airport when I arrived, you were so trusting." He laughed again. "Remember when you showed me around? I was still in the planning stages, so one could say you were my accomplice."

"No." She shook her head even though he couldn't see it. "I had no idea who you really were."

"You showed me the exact places of where my murders happened, right down to your own condo." He only smiled this time, knowing that she was watching him. "I did try to warn you to leave but you wouldn't go. I decided that you were special enough to die with me."

It was true. They had spent a whole day arguing over the matter, but she still had classes and couldn't afford to take any time away from them. Why hadn't she listened to him? Of course, if none of this happened, she probably would've never met L. That didn't mean she wanted to thank the guy in front of her either.

"If I had succeeded, L would never have been able to solve the case. I would've won."

"But L did win and he will win this case as well." As she said it, she believed it.

The copycat isn't as smart as BB is. They were only using what was given to the media to stage their murders. So far the three murders had happened and everyone was just waiting a forth. It would be with the next murder that actual evidence will be at the scene to catch them. No one had wanted it to come down to another killing, but there were no other choices. L made the decision and everyone followed his lead. _Just one more murder_. She stood to leave but stopped when hearing his voice.

"If this is truly my copycat then I would watch out if I were you Dee. You were my last victim." It was probably the first useful piece of information he provided but it didn't make her feel any better.

"You're wrong B. _You_ were your last victim."

"Kya ha ha ha ha." It was a laugh that sent shivers down her spine. The same laugh he used when she last saw him. "We would've been great together. Too bad L got in the way."

The door opened and the guard came in. "There have been orders Miss. I've been told to escort you out."

She didn't say anything as she left the building and got into the limousine. All she could see was his blistered form. They probably covered his whole body, a thought she didn't want to think about. L was sitting in his spot with no laptop or microphone in sight. Lifting her hand, she moved it in an attempt to slap him but he caught her wrist before her palm made contact with his cheek. He looked at her as tears fell freely from her eyes.

"You weren't about to slap me, were you?" He kept a hold on her, just in case she would try again. He didn't bother about her other hand because he knew that it would've been too weak to even bother.

"You would've deserved it." She spoke harshly. "You tricked me."

L nodded, not hiding the truth from her. "Although I hoped you wouldn't figure that out, don't you feel better now?"

"No I don't! I feel worse!" She shouted at him and watched as he flinched from the loud noise. Her sobbing increased and she fell forward into his arms. "Every single detail came back. This trip was such a waste of time."

He held her and wasn't sure what to say to make her feel better, obviously what he had done out of good faith just made things worse. The crying female in his arms was proof of that. He disagreed with her on one point though, the trip wasn't a waste of time, he found out one piece of critical information. They now knew who the next victim was going to be, he didn't voice this out of fear that it would be the wrong thing to say at a time like this.

Slowly, he placed his arms around her, rubbing her back soothingly. It was also probably the wrong time to demand for one of those kisses she had given him as well. She went to lie down on the seat with her head on his lap, not the best place to rest one's head but she didn't care. Being at the prison taught her a lot of things, all that weren't pleasant. Deep down she knew this would benefit her in the long run, her questions had been answered. A couple of streets away from the hotel, she fell asleep. L requested that they stay in the limousine for a while longer and how he would get out when he felt like it.

"Everything will get better Dee." He murmured, running his fingers through her hair. "I promise to make sure nothing bad happens to you."


	7. Labrador

**A/N: **Here it is, enjoy! x

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L is for... - 31. Labrador

n. a retriever of a breed that predominantly has a black or yellow coat

"WAKE UP!"

The irritating noise sounded like it was right next to her ear. If she hadn't been buried under the covers of her warm bed, she probably would've jolted awake. The voice reminded her of L's, but he couldn't possibly be in here because she had locked the bedroom door before going to sleep and that was a few hours ago. She waited a bit and after hearing nothing, she assumed it must've been her imagination. Curling up and pulling the blankets more tightly around herself, she tried to get back to some much needed sleep.

On the brink of unconsciousness, the prodding started. They weren't soft 'trying to find where you are ticklish' prods, but hard and sharp 'wake the bloody hell up' prods. She started to squirm to get away from the fingers that wouldn't stop, but it didn't work and there was no way she was able to get back to sleep now. Instead she stayed stubbornly under the covers loosening them a bit to be able to kick out in the direction of the prods.

When her foot connected with something hard, she was surprised. Whatever she kicked was sent over the bed and landed on the floor with a thud where she heard more groaning and shifting. Who was in her room and how did they enter? Not wanting to find out she fortified her cocoon as much as she could with the little resources she had. The soft padding of feet on the floor came closer to her side of the bed and she started to shake with anticipation. What were they going to do next?

The blankets were pulled away from her grip with astonishing strength and she was left in the open, wearing only a thin nightie. She was still warm even though it was the beginning of winter because of the heating system this place had. Looking to her side, she was facing the bottom hem of a white shirt and some faded blue jeans. She lifted her gaze and saw L staring down at her with his owlish expression. A bruise started forming on his chin and his lips were upturned in a grin.

"How did you get in here?" She asked, seeing that her door was wide open.

"I have a key to every room." He offered no extra explanation to why he was in here or why he wanted her to be awake.

His grin didn't waver and became creepily disturbing. "Why are you grinning like that?"

L didn't say anything and pointed down at her. Confused, she looked down at herself and suddenly she understood. Her nightie had risen up so it looked like a normal top and her nipples could be seen through the then material. They were indicating that she was actually a lot colder than she felt. Blushing, she sat up and pulled the nightie down to cover her creamy thighs. Folding her arms to cover her breasts, she glared at L just in time to see his tongue finish licking his lips.

"Get out, you pervert!" She shouted at him, pointing to the door which was a mistake because his eyes were still on her and they weren't on her face.

"Get dressed and be ready in ten minutes." L said, finally making his way to the door. "We're going out."

"B-b-but…"

"If you're not ready by the time I come back in here, I will take you out however you are." The smile returned as he said the last bit. "Then everyone will be able to see what I just did."

"GET OUT!" If she had something to throw she would've thrown it but her hand was raised instead, in what she hoped was a threatening gesture.

True to his word, L came back in when exactly ten minutes had passed. She didn't know how he timed it because he had no watch and all his gear was still in America. It wouldn't have been surprising if he did manage to smuggle in one electronic device. She had been told to leave her cell phone in the hotel, she didn't have anyone to contact apart from L, and so she hadn't complained. She was with L all the time and meant that she didn't need anything to contact him anyway.

"Where are we going?" She asked as they got into the limousine that arrived.

He held up two fingers. "Two places. The first one is for food." One of the fingers was lowered. "The second one is a surprise."

She couldn't stop the way her face scrunched up at what he said. When it came to surprises and L, it could end up being anything and not always pleasant, having learnt from passed experiences. They stayed in silence for the rest of the trip until they reached the small town. Hopping out of the limousine, they were greeted by a very cold breeze and she hoped they would go somewhere warm very soon. That warm haven she wanted turned out to be a bakery and the alluring smells coming from it, made the place even more welcoming.

"The usual times two please." L said to the lady behind the counter as he walked to the back and sat down.

The lady looked like she always tried at least one thing of every batch of her sugary sweets. She nodded and got to work getting his order done. Obviously L had been out a lot more than she realised since he was on such friendly terms with a local. The lady came to their table with two large pieces of strawberry cheesecake, two coffees and a large bowl filled to the brim with sugar. She managed to place everything on the table without topping over or spilling anything.

"There you go sweeties, now you just call me if you need anything else."

"Thank you." L removed two fifty pound notes and handed them to her. "That should cover everything and anything extra we want."

The lady bent over, her large breasts resting on the table, and kissed him on the cheek. "I mean it when I say _anything_ else." She walked away to put the money in her cash register.

D laughed as L took a napkin from the holder and started wiping the side of his face with it. "How come you never wiped your face when I kissed you ages ago?"

"The idea of you kissing me is desirable. I'd rather not have someone twice my age kissing me, even if it is on the cheek."

Her eyelids started to droop after a few minutes. Needing to wake up, she took a large gulp of her coffee, spitting it out because absolutely no sugar had been put in it. "What is this rubbish?" She hissed out and dropped in four sugar cubes, stirring the liquid before taking other sip, this time humming with satisfaction.

"I always put the sugar in myself." He tipped half of the sugar that was in the bowl into his cup. "I forgot to tell you."

_Yeah right_. He was probably waiting to see her reaction. She picked at her piece of cake, the thought of eating it so early in the morning made her feel sick. L took her piece without asking and ate it for her after he finished his. She didn't understand why he needed to eat the sweet food. They were supposed to be on holiday and that meant he had no work. No work meant there would be no brain activity, which then meant he didn't need to feed his brain. Or maybe his brain continuously found work, like thinking up difficult mathematical equations for fun.

"Where is the surprise?" She actually became excited. What could possibly go wrong in this little town?

"It wouldn't be one if I told you." He got up and left. The limousine wasn't outside the bakery so she followed him as he walked the streets.

She sighed loudly, showing her annoyance as L walked through the busy town. He may as well be holding onto her hand because she had no choice for where she was allowed to go. Three hours had passed and her excitement was non-existent. All she wanted to do was sleep and there was a comfy bed calling out to her back where they were staying. Her head turned at the different shops they passed but her eyes were blank and glossy. After walking around in circles, there was nothing interesting to see anymore.

L had a plan. It didn't involve walking around in the freezing cold. He just did that to test her and see how long she would take it. Her empty state was obvious to any keen observer, he wondered if she locked herself in her own mind. He was still only in his white shirt and jeans while being in the cold. He stopped playing games and went to the surprise. There was one, and he hoped her reaction would be well worth it.

He knew this morning when he woke her up that she had only been asleep for a couple of hours. It had been another test. L enjoyed observing her reactions and even documented them as they happened. After waking her up, he got more than he bargained for. A smile reached his lips as he started biting his thumbnail, thinking back to what he saw. He planned on taking her to a pet shop. She needed to start having some fun and who didn't enjoy watching the cute little animals playing around waiting to be bought?

With all the information he gathered on D, he didn't know whether she liked animals or not. Medical records didn't show any allergies and he knew she didn't wear animal print underwear or clothing. There was nothing to show whether she hated them either. Her reaction would show him whether he had done a good job or not, he was only fifty-six percent sure she would like this surprise. Stopping, he turned to the shop they had already passed more than enough times, big writing on the window showed he was at the right place.

She didn't notice him stop, although he was right in front of her. She subconsciously moved around him, without realising what she had done. It was only when she felt a tug on one of her jeans belt loops that she was brought back from her reverie. She looked down at his pale bony finger curved around the hole, not letting go. The first thought she had was being glad for wearing weather appropriate clothing. L had the exact opposite thought.

"It would be better if I could pull on that tiny skirt of yours again, but I suppose this will do." He pointed at the shop window with his other hand. "We are here."

He watched her intently, looking for any change in her expression. It took her a few seconds to read the writing on the shop but the animals inside painted a bigger picture. She jumped up while squealing and clapping her hands together, excitement coming back tenfold. Those passing them stopped and looked at the commotion before carrying on their way. Some laughed and pointed at the strange pair, one acting crazy and the other dressed weirdly. The two paid no attention to anyone else as she rushed inside the shop.

"Look at all the cute animals!"

There were fish, birds, rabbits, kittens, guinea pigs – the list went on. She was reminded of the time L had shown her the laboratory, except this was a menagerie of domestic animals. The enclosure that caught her eye the most contained five Labrador pups. All apart from one were golden and playing around with each other. The odd one out had a shiny black coat and was sitting in the corner. Its wide eyes were staring at the others until it noticed her.

"Look..!" She had no idea what to call L in public so her voice trailed off. When he stood beside her, she continued. "It's you as a dog!"

L contemplated what she had said. Looking at the small animal he tilted his head to the side. The L-puppy mirrored his actions, keeping the rest of his body still. "That's not possible because I am standing right here. He can't be me."

She rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it in the literal sense."

"That puppy is costing us a fortune. I don't know how long we will be able to keep him." The shopkeeper said from behind them. "He doesn't like the normal dog food and will only eat the chocolate especially made for animals."

"That isn't a very good sales pitch." She mumbled to herself. Grabbing onto L's sleeve she started pulling it. "We have to buy him! He's just like you!"

"I don't think-"

"Please!" She interrupted him giving her best puppy dog eye look for the occasion. "I'll look after him and everything!"

"Well I suppose after-"

"He won't be here after!"

L looked at her and tried to get the word 'no' to leave his lips, but it wasn't even passing his throat. Sighing he looked at the shopkeeper. "If I give you the money required for looking after the puppy, can he stay here until later specified?"

"I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement, follow me."

D squealed happily again and hugged L in a deadening grip. She kissed the same cheek that the bakery lady did, before following the shopkeeper. Instead of using his sleeve to wipe the kiss away, his fingers gingerly touched the spot. A small smile appeared on his features. Even if this was going to cost him a fortune, he surmised that it was one-hundred percent worth it.


	8. Lamp

**A/N: **The 'eighth' chapter. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 17. Lamp

n. a device for giving light

"Ah, fu-" She almost yelled out an obscenity as her toe collided with the couch. "Ouch! Ow, ow, ow!"

She was in the pitch black of her hotel room, trying to get out. By now she should've known the couple of rooms as well as the back of her hand, but that wasn't the case. Her throbbing toe was proof. It was a couple of hours passed midnight and she had spent the last few tossing and turning in her bed. Normally she would doze off as soon as her head touched the pillow, but tonight was just one of those _other _nights.

She massaged her sore toe and decided to wait until her eyes were adjusted to the darkness. It would've been easier to just turn on the light, but she didn't plan on staying in her room. Getting on the floor she started crawling to the door. Keeping her head bent, she hoped that there weren't any sharp spears ready to pierce her. The sound of her head bumping into the door made her retract. It wasn't painful. She was just astonished that she found the door without looking.

The hallway was also dark and her eyes needed to adjust all over again. She planned on going into the hotel room opposite her one. It was where L was staying. He was probably still up since he rarely slept and she figured even though he suffered insomnia that he might be able to help her sleep. Luckily his hotel room was unlocked but it also had no lights on. Moving around blindly she was able to see a faint glow coming from under his bedroom door. It helped guide her but didn't stop her from kicking a table leg.

"Ah, sh-" She stopped herself before finishing the word.

Apparently he had been switching the furniture around since when she was in here earlier. She could've sworn that the table was supposed to be on the other side of the room and not in front of her path to L's bedroom. Carefully she held out her arms and moved around the table. She kept them out in front of her to help be aware of anymore possible furniture changes. There were none and she finally got to his door.

The light was still flickering on the ground and she was sure that he would've heard her outburst. Not expecting any resistance because the first door had been unlocked, she tried to open the door. It didn't move and stayed closed. She tried again, rattling the door knob, nothing different happened. It was locked. She was tempted to try and shoulder barge the door in and see if she was strong enough, L would pay for any damages. Instead she just started quietly knocking on the door and whispering his name. There was no reply.

"L!" She called out louder and knocked harder. "I know you're in there, open up!"

She heard shuffling on the other side of the door. "What is the password?"

Was he being serious? "Uh… open sesame?" It was the first thing to come to her mind. She was sure that she would have no idea what the _actual_ password was, if there even was one.

"Wrong. This is not a cave." He started tapping on the door in something that resembled Morse code, if only she could interpret it. "I just told you the answer."

"I would probably have better luck guessing if you told me it in Japanese." She didn't know any other language apart from English. "Can't you pretend it is a cave? It could be like your own man cave!"

"I suppose that is true." L opened the door a tiny bit, looking out at her in the darkness. "But then only men would be allowed inside."

"L! I need your help, I can't sleep." She pouted even though he probably couldn't see it. "Please can I come in?"

She could only see the light flashing behind him in a soft glow. There was nothing else that she could see and his features were hard to distinguish. Slowly he widened the gap while still blocking the way. He moved aside to allow her entrance but there still wasn't enough room for her and she found herself moving through the gap having to squish passed L. There was little space between them that she could feel his whole body against hers as she entered the room.

"Since you can fit, it means you haven't been eating my sweets. You can come in."

She rolled her eyes. "I don't even like any of your sweets."

The computer screen lit up the whole room so that she was able to see everything. What caught her eye was the massive double bed in the middle of the room. His computer was situated on a table beside the bed and L went over to sit in front of it. She decided to go to the other side of the bed. Crawling on top of the covers, she began sinking into the bed. Experimenting, she started bouncing. The bed moved and she looked over at L who also was moving because of the momentum.

"Stop it." L spoke quietly but she listened and did what he ordered.

"You're no fun." She frowned and lifted the covers to get underneath them.

"You can't sleep there." It sounded as if he was her father and telling her she couldn't go out.

"Why not?"

"It is my side of the bed." His eyes never left the computer screen.

His reason made her laugh. "You never sleep L, you can't pick sides." She pointed over to him. "You are sitting on that side and there is no room for me to lie down."

"The whole bed is mine. What I say goes." He moved to give her more room. With his signature sitting position, it looked like he was about to fall off because he was leaning over the edge. "You can sleep here now."

"But I'll be sleeping next to your ass." She complained, grumbling out the last bit.

"Are you saying I don't have a nice ass?"

"Well no, but-" She was interrupted before being able to counter his question.

"If there is nothing wrong with it then you will have no problem sleeping next to it, feel free to kiss it if you like." He wiggled his ass to get in a more comfortable position which caused her to giggle at him. "If you don't like the sleeping arrangements, you can try getting to sleep in your own bed. I know you have spent the last three hours trying and I thought you wanted my help."

"Fine." She relented and moved next to him, hopping under the covers and snuggling onto her side, facing his computer.

"Now just stay there and close your eyes." He instructed as if it was really that simple.

He began typing with each forefinger and she watched the message he was writing on the screen. She didn't feel like closing her eyes and was surprised that he made no mistakes, even with the lack of actual light. A lamp was on the bedside table and she reached over with an arm to try and turn it on. Having no luck, she felt L's arm brush against hers as he turned it on. They were suddenly enveloped in yellow light and the room wasn't very dark anymore.

"Are you scared of the dark?" L asked with a concerned voice, looking at her.

"No." She said it quickly and he had trouble believing her. "I thought that maybe you would find typing easier being able to see."

"You saw that I made no mistakes. I never do." He used a matter-of-fact tone. "I could probably type perfectly with a blindfold on." The way he was so sure of himself made her want to gag.

L went to turn the lamp off but she stopped him by holding onto his wrist. "Could we keep it on for a little bit longer, until I fall asleep?"

"I don't know how you will be able to get any sleep with it glaring down on you."

"The computer screen wouldn't be any different." She was reluctant to let him go because she was scared he would turn it off. Releasing his wrist, she watched him to make sure he didn't try anything.

L went back to typing. The lamp was the last thing on his mind. "I'm turning it off as soon as your breathing slows down."

She smiled at him, resting her head on the pillow. Curling up some more she started staring at his bare feet which were right in front of her. Instinctively she smelt around for an unpleasant odour, but there wasn't one. It shocked her to know that he still had the time to clean himself. Even if he stayed indoors all the time, his feet would naturally start to stink. She was disappointed that he didn't have a unique smell about him, not even something sweet and sugary. She was probably sniffing in the wrong place though.

She could feel the pull of unconsciousness making her eyelids heavier, but she wasn't ready to sleep just yet. L's typing became rhythmic and was helping to lull her to sleep. Giving up on the fight, she closed her eyes, the light still streaming through her lids. It didn't bother her and was reassuring. Normally she didn't mind the darkness but there were certain times, like when L brought it up, where it would start to bother her.

The darkness she fell under when Beyond Birthday drugged her was the most disturbing. There were other happier dark related things. L's wide eyes, she wouldn't mind getting lost in them. His jet black hair, she was sure he had never brushed it because it was always all over the place. The darkness of being under his bed covers would also be welcoming. She didn't realise that all the dark things she liked had something to do with the man beside her.

She started smiling and moved closer to him. If L noticed, he didn't give any indication. The last thoughts she had were of how comfy the bed was and how she wished her own hotel bedroom bed was similar. When she heard that he stopped typing she frowned, her eyebrows were drawn together. She relaxed again when the typing continued. It was as if L knew what his typing was achieving because she didn't hear him stop it until she couldn't hear anything at all.

D had been asleep for an hour and L stopped his finger typing to look over at her peaceful expression. If someone were to take a picture right now and look at it, they wouldn't be able to tell the scars she had or the demon she once faced. The lamp was still turned on and the yellow light flushed over her skin, making it look flawless. Her hand gripped onto the covers and was lightly touching one of his feet. His computer beeped, alerting him of a received message but he paid no attention to it.

Reaching down to her, he traced her forehead and nose with a finger. Her face scrunched up at the touch but she didn't awaken from it. The next places under his finger were her cheek, lips and chin. He remembered back to when to the times she had kissed him without realising what she was doing. She had stolen his first kiss, but he didn't complain because he enjoyed it even though it was brief. Finally his fingers made their way through her hair, and when reaching the end strands he twisted them in-between his thumb and forefinger.

"Good night D." He whispered as he bent down, wanting to kiss her but backing out at the last second. A kiss would be pointless if she wasn't experiencing it with him. "I hope you sleep well." He turned off the lamp and they were encased in only the glow of the computer screen again.


	9. Liquor

**A/N: **Here is it, enjoy! x

* * *

L is for... - 49. Liquor

n. alcoholic drink

"Look at what I found!" She burst into his bedroom excitedly holding up a bottle and closing the door behind her.

He had stopped locking the door for a while so she didn't need to knock on it anymore. She was yet to catch him doing anything other than working on his cases. The only interesting thing to have happened was when she had been waiting in his room when he was showering. She entered without him known and apparently after he dried himself off with a towel, he left the towel in the bathroom. She was in fits full of laughter as soon as he walked out stark naked, which didn't help with his self-esteem issues.

"What is it?" L's concentration was still on his computer, it hadn't wavered and he was yet to look away since she had entered.

"Well if you did as I said, you might have an idea."

She began to wonder if he was really part owl. Not only did his name sounded like the animal, he was half nocturnal and had the large alert eyes. She was watching as his head twisted around at almost a 180 degree angle, he blinked his eyes slowly. D remembered reading somewhere about how owls were the only animal to blink like humans. Maybe he wore a human mask and his nose was really a beak? She was expecting him to take it off and begin hooting, but nothing of the sort happened.

"It looks like a bottle that is seventy-five percent empty." He turned back around and continued whatever he had been working on.

"You're such a pessimist L." She shook the bottle and stared at the sloshing liquid. "I'd prefer to think that it is twenty-five percent full."

"What is the liquid?" He was typing away while he asked the question.

She turned the bottle around so that L could read the label, it was dark and he was far away so it was useless. Of course if he had really been part owl, it would've been easy for him. "It's some sort of whiskey."

"Did you drink all of that by yourself?" His voice was stern, as if he didn't need her to reply because he already came to his own conclusion.

"No! I wouldn't be standing right now if I had." He didn't seem to believe her and she then started to tell him about how she acquired it. "I was in Watari's hotel room chatting with him when he had to go and do something."

It explained how he wasn't able to see her on any of the camera footage. The only places that didn't surveillance were his hotel room and Watari's. He trusted the elderly man more than he trusted anyone else. Watari was the best father figure to ever have been in L's life. D was coming close to being trusted to the same extent, but that wouldn't stop him from keeping the cameras in her room active. He began listening to the rest of what she had to say.

"So I was snooping around, trying to find anything that would ruin his good caregiver image and I found this!" She held up the bottle triumphantly as if it were a trophy.

"I don't think you should've taken that." He mumbled with his thumb by his mouth. "Go put it back." Maybe he should've said it as an order because he thought she would've listened to him but she didn't.

"Watari is a closet alcoholic!" She went to sit beside him on the bed. "You should be thanking me for taking it from his possession. At his old age this stuff could very well kill him. I'm _saving_ his life."

L looked over at her and wondered whether what she was saying was the truth. His eyes flickered down to the bottle in her hands. "What does it taste like?"

"Have you _never_ had whiskey before?" Her eyes widened momentarily before going back to their normal size.

"No." His eyes went back to the computer and she could see by the glow the screen was casting, that his cheeks began to turn slightly darker. "I'm a detective and need to always be top of my game. Alcohol would just inhibit me from catching criminals. I've never wanted to drink it either… until now. Have_ you_ tried it before?"

"I used to be a college student. There were parties during the week and on weekends. I haven't tried this stuff though." She looked at the bottle and smiled mischievously. "Face me." When he did as she said, she gave him the bottle. "Try some."

L twisted the top of the bottle with his forefinger and thumb. He dropped the top on the ground beside the bed after screwing it free. Shaking the bottle about, he took a sniff of the contents and pleased with what he could smell, L finally took a large gulp of the liquid as if it was a cup of tea. The whiskey was in his mouth for a couple of seconds before he spat it out and all on her.

"That's disgusting, there's nothing sweet about it at all." His features contorted into a grimace as he wiped his mouth, still being able to taste the foul liquid.

She cringed and felt drops on her face. "I never said it was sweet, if you want to add sugar to it then make yourself a cocktail." Looking down at her clothes, she saw blotches of alcohol mixed with spit all over them. "I'm going to get changed."

She walked over to his dresser and started stripping both her top and jeans, feeling L's eyes on her the whole time as she faced away from him. Opening the top drawer, D took out one of the many white shirts and pulled it over her head. She freed her hair from the ponytail and turned to see L still holding onto the bottle of whiskey. Her eyes went from the whiskey to his face many times and she began to form a plan, one that might get him to appreciate the alcohol in his hands a bit more.

"I like it when you wear my clothes." He started rolling up the sleeves that were so long they covered her hands. While he did this, she grabbed the bottle from him. "You look good."

She smiled at him and sniffed the liquid in bottle, it smelled to her like caramel. _What is he talking about? I bet it isn't even disgusting_. Taking a tiny sip she let it stay in her mouth for a bit before swallowing. It was strong but nothing worth spitting out. She remembered how big of a gulp he took and nodded to herself, understanding why he would've had the reaction. _Let's try this_. Having another small sip, she placed the bottle onto the table that his computer was sitting on. Using her hands she pushed his knees apart so the soles of his feet were touching. He was flexible enough that it didn't hurt him.

"I shouldn't sit like this, my intellige-"

He was cut off as her mouth met his. Carefully her tongue probed his lips for entrance and when he opened his mouth for her, she was able to push the whiskey into it along with her tongue. She could feel him swallowing and smiled as he still continued to kiss her, his tongue stroking hers. The bottom of his shirt became scrunched up in her hands as she gripped onto it tightly. They broke apart, breathing in much needed air and she saw his face lit up with a smirk.

"I want another one of those. Let me try it this time." He grabbed the bottle and took a little sip like the one she had.

D laughed at his eagerness. "By the time we are finished, I don't think you will have much intelligence left."

L couldn't reply because his mouth had alcohol in it and he just pulled her towards him so she was sitting on his lap with her legs wrapped around his waist. They continued their little game over the next few hours, switching rolls of whiskey transporter, until all the whiskey was gone and only an empty bottle was left. Both of them were feeling a buzz with the consumption of the alcohol and her fingers trailed down his shirt covered chest to the bottom hem. She pulled it up over his head and revealed his pale skin.

"You are a different kind of beauty." She whispered and lightly traced each muscle on his chest with one finger until he stopped her movements wrapping his fingers around her wrist.

"That tickles." He explained, kissing her fingertip and then doing the same to the rest of them. "I don't know whether to take it as an insult or a compliment."

"It is a compliment. How is your intelligence holding up?" Her hand moved to his face and began lining his lips, feeling them move as he talked.

"I imagine this is what a normal person feels like, one with very little intellect. I can only think about one thing right now."

"Oh?" She looked into his dark eyes, tilting her head to the side. "What would that be?"

L held onto her hips and began to move her around so her back was on the soft blanket of his bed. "You." He was hovering over her, placing kisses from her earlobe and along her jaw before leaving a couple of chaste ones on her lips.

In the horizontal position their kisses got more intense. They started needing each other in ways more than those just involving bare emotions. The foggy haze over their minds helped them along. They weren't new to this but the alcohol was making the experience different, perhaps more interesting as well. He removed her top at an excruciating slow pace, placing kisses as the skin was revealed bit by bit. His jeans were next to go and her hands were in his hair pulling at the strands as her mouth was searching for his. Before they could go any further there was a knock on the bedroom door.

"I'm sorry to bother you like this L, but do you happen to know where my bottle of whiskey is?" It was Watari on the other side of the door. "There was only a little bit left but I can't seem to find it anywhere."

"Uh… no, I don't." L tried to think straight and talk normally as he replied. "Do you want me to help you find it?"

"Well if you're not busy-" The door opened and Watari walked in, stopping mid-sentence. She couldn't help but laugh at what the poor old man walked into. "I didn't realise Dee was keeping you company tonight, my apologies. Don't worry yourself with my small problem. I will try looking in my room again." Before Watari left he turned around one more time. "I suggest locking the door when you are about to partake in such activities, for your sake as well as my own."

The door closed and L got off her, the mood having been successfully ruined. He began rubbing his temples, trying to clear his mind but it wasn't working. "This is why you shouldn't have taken his whiskey."

"If I didn't, you would be in here all alone." She looked around for the bottle and found it on the table, in clear sight of the doorway. "Do you think he saw it?"

"I don't know." L grumbled and pouted. "I can't even think up percentages at the moment."

She petted his head and rested her own in the crook of his neck. "That's not a bad thing."

"It is for me." His hand went straight to her hair, playing with it in the way he always would when she was close. "Remind me to buy Watari another bottle of whiskey to replace the one he just had."

"I will try, but that is if we even remember what happened tonight." There was nothing else said afterwards and she closed her eyes soon to fall asleep.


	10. Luxury

**A/N: **There are a few cheesy lines in this, but I think they fit well so I kept them in here. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 42. Luxury

n. the state of great comfort and extravagant living

"Get changed, we're going out."

The elevator doors to her laboratory, where she was currently working, had opened to reveal L. He came up to her when she hadn't moved and grabbed onto her hand, taking her to the area for the protective gear to come off. She didn't need to do anything as he unbuttoned the coat, took her goggles off and bent down to remove the boots. Dragging her feet behind him, she couldn't help but be curious to where they were going.

"Is there a reason you are in a rush?"

"No." L pushed her into the bedroom and closed the door. "If I left you by yourself, you would take forever. Now get changed."

He was being awfully bossy, so she decided to take her time. L never liked going out to crowded places, which meant that she didn't need to take care with what she wore. Coming out of her room, she was wearing some jeans and one of his shirts that she never gave back. He shook his head when he saw her and pushed her back in the room, this time following her and sitting on the bed. Pointing to her closet and speaking, only after he had his knees secured to his chest.

"In there is a short black dress."

"No there isn't." She couldn't remember ever buying one.

"Yes there is." L got up and walked to the closet. After a little searching around he pulled out the article of clothing he said would be in there. "I had Watari buy one this morning while you were in the lab."

She grabbed the dress from him and groaned. It wasn't as bad as the one she wore when going out with Wedy but she knew this one would also barely cover her. Were they going to a nightclub? _No_, _L hates crowds_. If they were going anywhere crowded there would have to be some sort of space. Would it be another self-owned bakery? She mentally shook her head. If that was the case she wouldn't need to dress up. The answer to her question evaded her while she got changed and also when they were in the limousine.

The line to the restaurant was long, going out to the sidewalk. She figured it was a fancy one because the name was in another language that she didn't understand. They would definitely be waiting for half an hour, if not more. She yawned, the thought of boredom made her tired. The sleepless nights she had been having, weren't helping either. Stars sparkled above and the moon was close to being full. She'd rather just walk through the town but L seemed to want to specifically come here.

He really needed to get new clothes. It wasn't as if the clothes he had on _weren't_ new, but they were always the same and she started comparing him to those cartoon characters that never changed their clothes. His hands were in his jean pockets and his back was hunched over. If she didn't know him, she would've judged him to be a shady guy, preying on unsuspecting young female girls. She knew it wasn't the case but it didn't stop her noticing the glances being sent her way.

"Why did you choose black?" The silence was making her think crazy and she needed to talk, asking a question she had thought when first seeing the dress. She also knew he wouldn't have let Watari choose for himself, L was too controlling to do that.

"The colour matches my eyes." He removed one of his hands and held onto her one, giving it a little squeeze. "You look lovely in it. I should get Watari to choose more of your clothes."

"I'd rather him not." She said as she pulled at the ends of the dress.

She had to be careful how she moved or else it would ride up too much. They should've gone to a nightclub instead, at least then she would've fit in. Looking at everyone in their elegant clothing, she noticed that although L stood out like a sore thumb, so did she. The line had only moved a little bit since they had arrived a half hour ago and she was getting restless. L seemed to be as well because he had his other thumb to his lips.

"This is taking too long." L suddenly stated.

"Where have you been?" She asked him. "You should've been able to tell how long we had to wait because of the length of the line when we got here." She was letting her irritation show, not feeling guilty when he sent her a frown.

"This will not do."

She didn't know whether he was talking about her attitude or the waiting. As he pulled her passed the people in front of them she had her answer. L didn't bother saying anything to the disgruntled people as they shouted some choice words at him. She tried her best to look apologetic, but it didn't help their moods at all. They had been waiting for even longer than her and L. If she was in their position, she would be feeling the exact same way.

"I've already got some reservations." L said when he got to the front of the line.

The hostess sneered at him. "You will have to go to the back of the line before I can take you to your table, but I think you are in the wrong place. The new _cheap _diner right across the road just opened up, I think they will be more affordable for you."

"I think you should ask what my reservation name is first." L used his 'I may not look it, but I'm better than you' tone.

She rolled her eyes and sent a disgusted look at D, secreting a disapproving vibe of her choice of clothing. "Humour me. What is your reservation?"

"Ryuzaki."

"And your first name?" The hostess hadn't even looked at the reservations list yet.

"No first name, just Ryuzaki." He looked her in the eyes, not deterred by how she must've thought badly of him.

The hostess finally gazed down, her eyes skimming across the names in front of her. The people in the line behind them were still shouting and complaining, having to wait even longer because of the hold up. D stifled another yawn that threated to escape her, turning her head into L's neck to hide it when she couldn't hold it back. The hostess' eyes widen for a bit when finding the name and looked up at him. Her mouth was open and they were able to see her tonsils.

"I'm sorry Mr and Mrs Ryuzaki. Please follow me while I take you to your table." She turned around and led them into the main area, to a table for two in the very middle of the restaurant.

D smiled smugly at the change of attitude from the hostess and also how she thought the two of them were married. _One day it might happen_. The table they sat at had two candle holders with candles burning brightly, much like the rest of the room. It was obvious that to be able to dine in a place like this, it cost a fortune. How did he have to funds for his lifestyle? He permanently stayed at a hotel and there were all the limousine rides. Never before had she thought about how he paid for it all. Maybe he had found the elusive money tree with hundred dollar bills as leaves.

"You had already ordered your food, it should come shortly." The hostess left them alone and quickly went to all the other waiting people.

"Why did you take me here?" She asked him, looking around at everyone who decided to stare at the weird way L sat in his chair. "You should've asked for a side table."

"I am showing you what I am made of." He reached over and held one of her hands. "Are you ashamed to be here with me?"

"Of course I'm not ashamed. If I was then I wouldn't still be sitting here with you." It was her turn to squeeze his hand.

"Good." He let her hand go as the server came with their food.

She was given a small bowl of pasta and L had a large bowl of ice cream, fruits and chocolate sauce. Grabbing a fork, she began eating her food. They stayed in silence, the chattering around them as background noise. Whatever needed to be said could be told after dinner was eaten and finished. She laughed when he got some sauce on his upper lip and didn't seem to notice. Using a finger she wiped it for him and put the chocolate covered fingertip in his mouth. Keeping eye contact, he sucked on her finger and licked it until the chocolate was gone. She suddenly had a better place for them in her mind and it was far away from this restaurant.

"How are you going to pay for all of this?" She asked once he had finished his dessert.

L grabbed a large wad of cash from his pocket, placing it onto the table, next to their empty plates. When he was sure that no one would be listening he stated talking. "I get all my money through the cases I solve. I will only accept a case with a million dollar reward or if more than ten people have been killed. Usually the cases with ten or more victims tend to have a large summed reward. It all adds up over time."

She reached over and held the cash, flipping through the hundred dollar bills. There was easily two-thousand dollars in her hands. The most money she ever had the chance to hold at once, or ever will. "Is this really necessary?" She was talking about the amount, but he thought she meant the cash.

"Cash cannot be traced. It is why I refrain from getting a credit or eftpos card." He took the money from her and put it back on the table. "You never know who might end up being as smart as me and knowing where to look to find me."

She nodded, understanding where he was coming from. L was careful with everything he did, always planning out each step. They were content at looking around at the other couples, secretly judging them. In her mind she came up with stories for each one. One man was a wealthy politician who decided to bring his favourite prostitute to the restaurant. Another was a homeless guy who killed a businessman, stealing the identity and dating the secretary of his new firm. She was internally laughing as each story got crazier than the one before it.

"You had asked me why I took you here and there is another answer I want to give you." He spoke after the lengthy silence. "You are mine and I know the way we feel about each other is… mutual." L paused, as if thinking over his next words. He took her hand again and began stroking the top of it with his thumb. "I'm rich and I want to be able to give you the world. Anything you want, I will give it to you."

She didn't reply and it started to scare him. Did he say too much? D was just overwhelmed with what L had said. Coughing a bit she quickly stood up. "Uh… I just need to go to the bathroom."

Making a beeline for the bathroom and holding her dress down, she was glad that it was empty when she arrived. That changed as more and more ladies entered. Did everyone's partners decide to say unexpected things at once? She splashed her face with water from the tap. Wearing no make-up had its benefits and she didn't have to deal with running mascara or eyeliner. Staying in the bathroom for a long time, she knew L would start getting worried and look for her but she didn't move.

"There you are." L entered and a few of the women still in the bathroom screamed. He held onto her wrist and pulled her into one of the stalls, locking it behind him. "Why are you still in here?"

"Why are _you_ even in here?"

"I asked first." He said, expecting her to answer his question but she gave no response. "If you must know, I came to see if you were okay. You're reaction at the table was unexpected, I had only given it a nineteen percent chance of happening."

"You rendered me speechless L." She wrapped her arms around his neck, not wanting to fall backwards and into the toilet. He helped by placing his hands on her hips. "I don't want you to give me the world." She kissed him on the lips, letting them linger before backing away to look in his eyes. "All I need is you."

"That makes me happy because if you actually wanted the world that would be impossible to give." L captured her lips for more kisses.

There was a knock on the stall door making them both jump at the intrusion. "I was told there was a couple in here having sex." It was the voice of the hostess. "Get out now before I call security to break this thing open!"

"Well that plan got ruined." L mumbled to himself.


	11. Lunge

**A/N: **I don't know how I feel out this one. It is really short too. :/ I'll do another upload tomorrow and I can guarantee it will be better. :) Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 40. Lunge

n. a sudden forward thrust of the body

"Where are we going?" She asked him as they walked down long corridors of some building she had never noticed before.

It was the weekend and she had complained about the confinements of the hotel, more than usual lately. Watari offered to take her somewhere but he never specified where they were going. She assumed that L was busy because he wasn't with them, or maybe whatever they were doing wasn't of interest to him. The limousine ride was filled with silence because she didn't know what to talk about. It was a sunny day and she still felt confined as she walked inside the building, because she would've preferred being outside.

Watari looked behind him, to make sure that she was still close to him. He didn't want her getting lost, something that happened in the hotel quite often even though she had lived there for a while now. "I have some time off, so I thought I would teach you something. It is actually a hobby of mine Dee."

"What is it?" She didn't mind that he hadn't answered her question, D was more curious about what they would be doing.

"Foil fencing." Watari opened up the next door and they entered the large room.

Inside there were only two tables which held two sets of equipment on them. The rest of the area was empty apart from a strip of material on the floor in the middle of the room. The larger set of equipment was obviously for Watari and the smaller set for herself. She watched him put on his fencing outfit and looked to her set, seeing the chest protector for the first time. Holding it up to her chest with her thumbs and forefingers, she gazed down and started to laugh.

"Watari, do I have to wear this?" She was still holding the protector against her chest, this time her hands were on the breast mounds. "It is going to make my boobs look ridiculously humungous!"

"Yes, you have to. It is mandatory."

D couldn't keep a straight face as she put everything on over her clothes. In her mind, when she put on the mask, she felt like an astronaut, minus the rocket ship. When they had finished getting ready, Watari led her to the middle of the room. They stood a few metres away of each other on the large strip of material. She moved the foil blade around with her hand, trying to find a comfortable position and also having no idea what to do.

The blade was over half her height and weighed lighter than a block of butter. Watari lunged forward when he knew she was watching him and with a thrust of his arm in momentum with his body, his foil hit her squarely in the chest and bent with the impact. Even with a bent foil, she was push backwards because of the force and she was grateful for wearing the chest protection. Somehow knowing it would've hurt otherwise. Under his mask the elderly man gave a victory smile, it was good to know he still had the moves in his old age.

"That is one point for me Dee." Humour was laced in his voice. "You can only gain a point by having the tip of the blade touching somewhere on the chest or back area."

D tried to copy his earlier movement but Watari easily parried her and immediately made another attack, this time hitting the side of her stomach. They carried on like this, moving backwards and forwards. She didn't get one point, while his points piled up going into the double digits. As the time passed, she had a sneaking suspicion that the reason Watari brought her along was so he could feel superior again. In the room he was _Watari the master fencer_, instead of being L's caregiver.

It got to the point where only she was walking backwards, always in the defensive while Watari was in the offensive. "Can you go easy on me? It is only my first day." She complained as the pain of every blow started kicking in and becoming more than just a dull ache. Luckily she hadn't exposed her back to him, but she was sure he wasn't _that_ mean.

"The only way you can effectively improve is by facing an opponent much more skilled than yourself." Watari spoke as if he was telling her the world's biggest secret.

"What she needs to do is stay still." L called out upon entering the room, he stayed on the side-lines with his slouched posture.

"Huh?" Her concentration disappeared when she looked of at him, making sure it was really him she heard. Watari took the opening and stabbed her in the side. "Ouch!"

"I win again." Watari knew how to be smug and she figured he learnt from L.

"You're supposed to be teaching me, not using your advantage over me Watari!" She faced the elderly man again, trying to ignore the other man in the room.

"My apologies Dee, I couldn't help myself." Her eyes narrowed and she doubted that his apology was sincere.

"D just-"

"Shut up L!" She cut him off.

All the times of losing to Watari in the short period she had been in the outfit was suddenly wearing her out. Yes, she was inexperienced, but now she wished she just stayed at the hotel and in her laboratory. It was a place where she could work in peace and also where she knew everything and was the best compared to these two. She took off the mask, wanting to feel fresh air against her face even though Watari started protesting.

"I'm only trying to help." L had his eyes to the ground in an attempt to look sorry, but the tone of his voice said something entirely different.

"I don't care! Unless you want to be over here with this foil, I don't want to hear anything coming from your mouth." D decided she was never going to complain about being in the hotel again, but she still wanted to at least get _one_ hit on Watari. It would be a big accomplishment for her.

"But what-"

She threw the weapon at him but he easily dodged it by side stepping. "You missed. I don't think they were created to be used as projectile weapons."

"Go, get out!" She walked up to him, turning him around by the shoulders and tried to push him closer to the exit.

"Why? I want to watch." He dug the heels of his bare feet in the floor. The polish on the wood was working in her favour and she was still able to move him. It was just a lot harder.

"You don't watch L, you _observe_." She finally managed to open the door and shove him out of it. "I don't want to be under your critical eye. Now I'll see you when I am finished."

"That's okay!" L shouted through the door as it slammed shut in his face. "There are cameras in that room. I will just _observe_ you in my room, like I have been since you began!"


	12. Lunacy

**A/N: **I know I said I would have this up yesterday, but stuff happened and yeah. :/ I also didn't want to rush it. With saying that I hope it is good. :) Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 4. Lunacy

n. the state of being a lunatic

On her way to work that evening, she had a distinct feeling of being followed and watched. Every time she turned around she didn't see anyone paying any attention to her. Assuming that she was only being paranoid, she carried on at a hurried pace to work, with the excuse of not wanting to be late even though she always made it on time long before her shift started. As she was about to enter the double doors of the pub, she noticed a limousine drive pass. It had her attention because it wasn't very often she would see one. Was probably just some rich bastard, flaunting his money around the place for everyone to see.

"Diamond! Thank god you're early." Her boss called her over to the bar. Whenever he called her by her last name, it made her feel like a stripper. "I need you to start on the tables straight away. We've been busy since lunch and one of the girls called in sick."

He did not mean for her to get up on one of the table and start dancing. She was _not_ a stripper or even an exotic dancer, as they liked to be called. Waiting tables was going to be her work until it quietened down and she would then be behind the bar. Any ideas she had of having a little break before starting were diminished when he threw an apron at her. Going into the back, she quickly put it on. The top of the apron was high enough to cover the cleavage her top didn't, but it wasn't long enough to cover her short black skirt.

If it really was as busy as her boss said, she was most likely going to warm up quickly in the top she was wearing. It was a medium sleeved red top with slits from the shoulder to her elbow. The main reason she wore it was because it covered the wounds on her back. They were still healing from when they were inflicted a few months ago. She was lucky to get the job, her boss preferred his 'girls' to show a lot of skin. It helped gaining new customers, especially those of the male variety.

As long as her back was concealed, she made up for the skin loss by showing off her legs and décolletage instead. After showing him the reason for not wanting to wear the skimpy tops, she reckoned he only employed her out of pity. He was the only one to know her secret since moving and she was glad he could be trusted. Her first few weeks ended up being a disaster, spilling beer and tripping over with plates filled with food in her hands. Now she was much better and she made few to no mistakes.

Time went by quickly as the work was constant, before she knew it only the regulars were left and it was well after dark, the sun had set only a couple of hours ago. She was tired and wanted to go on a break she was yet to have and just when she thought she would be able to make it to the back, someone would call out to her. Keeping up the happy face was difficult. She had to keep reminding herself of the pay check she would be getting at the end of the week.

"Hey wench!" One of the few patrons still in the pub called out to her as she tried to shimmy her way back behind the bar unnoticed. This one had a burgeoning belly and facial hair all over the place. "Give us another pint will ya?"

She tried to suppress the groan that left her lips and failed, she was too far away for him to hear her but her boss who was near did. Before turning around she placed another stretched fake smile on her face and spoke in what she hoped was a cheery voice. "What would you like?"

"Weren't you listening? I just told you!" He shouted out rudely. "I want that really expensive brew you have."

"I doubt you can afford it." She muttered under her breath, as she filled up the jug. "On the tab is it?"

"Sure is." He yelled at her.

She was unsure whether he would be paying it at all that night. No skin on her bones. The boss hadn't told her otherwise, so she was just going to carry on doing her job. She made her way over to him with the pint in her hands. The rowdier one of the customers tried to make a grab at her but she was able to lithely move out of the way of his grubby hands. It was one part of the job she hated, being touched. Normally she was fine with working, as long as no one tried to feel her up.

Placing the beer on the table, she hoped she would finally be allowed her much needed break. When the bell rang signalling that someone was entering, she gave no notice to it, probably was just another drunk wanting to drink his night away. Wiping down a few tables on her way to the side, she tried to make a hasty retreat before her boss got her to serve the new guy. All she wanted to do was sit down for a few minutes but she heard her boss calling out.

"Oi, Diamond! Serve this one and then you can get out of here."

She could only see the back of him. He sat on the tiny barstool with the heels of his bare feet up on the seat and his knees to his chest. The guy reminded her of someone she would rather not think about, so she decided to ignore his shaggy dark hair and get his order finished quickly. Her boss was lazy and she wondered why he even bothered going into business in the first place. What was wrong with him serving the stranger?

"Your name is Dead Diamond, but you prefer to be called D." The guy spoke as soon as she was standing in front of him behind the bar. He was looking down on the counter and she couldn't see any of his features.

_How does he know?_ It was her first question, along with many others. His talking interrupted her thoughts.

"Three months ago you were a victim to Beyond Birthday." He raised his eyes to her and she felt as if he was staring into her instead of at her. "It is nice to talk to you again D."

All she could see were the dark round circles underneath his eyes. They were exactly like _his_. Everything about the guy in front of her was exactly like _him_. Before she could stop herself, she backed as far away from him as the small space would allow her too, knocking into the alcoholic bottles behind her. She was shaking her head, not believing it. What was _he_ doing here? Her mind didn't rationalise that if the guy staring at her was actually Rue Ryuzaki, he would be burnt and his flesh would not look normal.

The man smiled creepily at her. "Is something wrong?"

A scream tore through her throat, causing everyone in the vicinity to stare at her. "No, no! Stay away from me!"

Run. That was what her brain was telling her to do but she couldn't move any part of her body. The only things that felt like moving were her vocal cords and head. Her boss came over to her and touched her shoulder but she slapped his hand away. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't be in the same room as _him._ Finally her legs moved and she ran out the back to the exit, not bothering to stop and take off the apron.

It was dark but the street lamps made it easier to see. Her mind was out of sorts and she was disorientated, she wasn't able to think straight. Figuring out which street her apartment was on would be useless. She heard the back door of the pub open and close. Panicking, she turned to the nearest corner which was an alleyway. It ended up being a dead end. Footsteps could be heard coming behind her, so she hid behind the nearest trash can, making herself as small as possible.

"Diamond! Where are you?" It was her boss. She wanted to tell him where she was but stayed hidden, not knowing if _he_ was with him. "That guy is gone. I kicked him out after you ran."

"Really?" She asked in a quiet whisper and didn't think he could hear her, but he did.

Soon enough, he was crouching down in front of her. "Come back inside."

"Just give me a few minutes to calm down." She gave him a reassuring smile and stayed in place while he went back to tend to the pub.

After she took a few deep breaths, there was some rustling, she looked around the trash can but saw nothing and assumed it was just a stray cat or a mouse. More rustling occurred and this time when she looked around the trash can, _he_ was standing there at the end of the alleyway with a slouching posture. Squealing, she covered her mouth with her hand to prevent any more noise from leaving her and flattened her back against the wall. She closed her eyes and covered her ears, just wanting _him_ to go away. When she next opened her eyes, she screamed.

The guy was crouching right in front of her, his wide eyes looking into hers. He put a hand over her mouth because she had made too much noise as it was. "I'm not who you think I am." He stated.

"You know too much not to be!" She kicked her foot out from underneath her, hoping that she would hit his face and also that it was too dark for him to see what she was wearing under her skirt.

He easily grabbed her ankle, stopping her movement. He leaned in closer to her and she tried to back away more but the wall was in her way. With his other hand he placed it on her shoulder near her neck. She tried to get out of his grip but it was no use because he was much stronger than her even though he looked weak. Shaking her head at him, tears started rolling from her eyes and down her cheeks. She didn't want to get hurt again. She would do anything to not feel that sort of pain again.

"Please don't." She begged him.

He shook his own head once. "Forgive me for this, but you need to come with me."

She felt a sharp shock of pain before everything went black. The guy picked up her seemingly lifeless body from the ground and carried it out of the alleyway, back through the pub.

"What did you do to her?" The owner of the pub rushed over to him seeing D in his arms. "Is she dead?"

"Well that is her name… but no, she is just unconscious for now." He put her on one of the unoccupied tables and took some money from his pocket. "This should cover any losses. She won't be working for you anymore."

There was a limousine outside, waiting for him to return to it. Inside it was an elderly man, also waiting. He helped with bring the girl's body into the vehicle. They were lucky it was dark and the streets weren't crowded. These actions would've probably caused a bigger scene if it had been done during the day. Like most things, he had thought of every possibility and coming when the pub was almost closing had the highest percentage of her capture and of fewer witnesses, both inside and out.

"Did everything go to plan L?" Watari asked after telling the driver to go back to the hotel.

"It was harder than expected but there is one thing that bothers me." L replied, his thumb going straight to his mouth.

The elderly man looked over at the younger one. "What is that?"

"Going by her reaction, Beyond Birthday looked very similar to me, but I don't know how he did it."


	13. Lobby

**A/N: **Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 20. Lobby

n. a room providing a space out of which one or more other rooms or corridors lead

She sat off to the side, watching everyone as they came in and walked to the reception desk. Many of the people had suitcases with them and were requesting a room in the fancy hotel. There were usually no more than two people in a group but occasionally a family would come in. She thought of herself as someone who wasn't easily readable. If someone were to meet her they wouldn't be able to tell that her life had been turned upside down just because of one person and his insane goal.

No one paid any attention to her and why would they? She was being normal and obviously someone who was staying at the hotel because the employees weren't shooing her away. She started a game, one she had made up a few weeks ago out of boredom. She was waiting for someone who looked like they were going to stay in this lobby for a while so she could stare at them for a bit. Maybe hanging around L so much had affected her adversely, if this is what she enjoyed doing in her spare time. An elderly couple walked in and sat down opposite her. _Perfect!_ They would be the victims to her imagination, as she made up names for them.

_Years ago, Eleanor and Charles had met each other when on separate missions to find out one piece of information that both of their secret agencies wanted. At the beginning they had no idea of the other's involvement, having first met each other at a local pub. Both of them were following the same person who had with him a briefcase, holding what they wanted. They found out the truth when one entered the same forbidden room the other was in. At first they fought, but neither could quite get the upper hand._

_After Charles tripped her over and Eleanor kicked him where it would hurt the most, they were both on the floor in pain. Much moaning and groaning later, they picked themselves up and decided to work together. They didn't realise the consequences in doing that. When back at their agencies or they were assigned another mission, one that would be a trap. Being secret agents, they never questioned their respective agencies and always did what they were told, no matter what it entailed._

_This mission was apparently dangerous. They had to kill someone in a specific room in an expensive building at midnight. Charles entered first to find no one in there, when Eleanor arrived a few minutes before midnight they became confused. Who were they supposed to kill? Was the man already dead? Or had he gotten a heads up? A minute before midnight there was a ticking sound. Looking around the place they found a bomb in a desk drawer. There were only seconds to go and not enough time to disarm it. Quickly they ran to the door but before they got to it-_

"Staring at people is considered rude missy." A voice interrupted her story and she blinked a few times. The old couple was standing in front of her. The man who had spoken was shaking his heads and muttering something about 'insolent young people these days'. "Come on Eleanor, our room should be ready now."

As they walked away and she felt her cheeks heat up with a blush. She had gotten so engrossed in her mind that she forgot all about her surroundings. Removing the sandals of her feet, she lifted them up to the seat she was sitting on and held them to her chest. Resting her chin on her knees, she stared at the ground and went back into her mind. She didn't even realise that the name she had made up for the woman was actually real.

_Charles covered Eleanor's body with his own one as the room exploded behind them. Debris flew everywhere and he felt some splinters of wood in his back. Together they got away from the building hoping not to get caught and questioned. Back at his hotel room she got to work at tending the tiny cuts on his back. She stayed the night and woke up in his embrace. Little did they know that the more time they spent together, they would eventually fall in love._

Love? What was it? Did it even exist? Would she ever love someone? Would someone ever love her? She laughed a little thinking about those questions. The notion was ridiculous. It would never enter her life. Her body and mind were damaged, most likely her soul as well. No one wanted damaged goods. She was never allowed anywhere to find it anyway. The only people she hung out with was Watari and L. Watari was not going to happen, some people say that age is only a number, but she wouldn't go there.

Could she love L? It made her laugh even harder and some of the people close to her stared for a bit until she stopped. _No_. That would never happen. Even if she did start having feelings for the guy, she was pretty sure he was incapable of such things. It wouldn't work out and was just as impossible as the idea of Watari. A shudder went through her, she needed to stop thinking about it and put her mind to better use.

_They decided to hide, move away together. As long as they kept to themselves then no one would be able to find them. Not wanting to seem too obvious, Charles and Eleanor bought a little townhouse. Keeping to themselves, they only left it when needing supplies. After a while, they changed their names and got some jobs. Soon she was pregnant. They got married and had their first child. No one did find them and they were safe, living on to a ripe old age._

_Deciding they needed a vacation, they organised a trip to L.A., where they got a room at the nearest hotel. Eleanor asked Charles if she could sit down for a bit, she was tired from the trip and her legs needed a rest. He saw a girl across the room staring at them. From the distance he couldn't see her features properly because of his poor sight, but her eyes were glazed over and she was no longer aware of her staring. Taking Eleanor's hand he went over to the girl and-_

"What are you doing?" The voice beside popped into her mind and again she was pulled from her thoughts.

She looked beside her to see L, sitting in the same position. "I'm just thinking."

"Only I get forty percent increased intelligence by sitting like this." He placed his thumb on his lips. "It would do nothing for you."

She didn't bother replying and noticed how a lot more people were staring at them. They must've looked like a crazy pair. Turning back at L, she tried to think up of a past story for him but nothing came to mind. She either had run out of ideas or actually wanted to know the truth and not make it mundane by having her own interesting story. He stayed staring ahead even though he was aware that her eyes were on him. Being use to people looking his way when he was out and about anyway, he waiting until she started speaking again.

"L…" She started, waiting for him to turn to her.

"What is it?"

"Do you believe in love?" What was she thinking asking that question? It sounded better in her mind but as soon as she blurted it out, she felt awkward. Internally face palming, she found something else and gazed at it with much curiosity, not expecting him to answer her.

"I can't say for certain." He began, taking his time at analysing her. "I've never experienced it."

He didn't say anything else and she was grateful he didn't question why she asked him it in the first place. "L…"

Instead of saying anything, he just hummed to let her know that he was listening.

"Will I ever get over it?" By _it_ she practically meant everything bad that happened to her.

"There is a twelve percent chance you will." L saw her crestfallen face and added. "That increases to an eighty-one percent chance if someone helps you."

She sneered, leaving her arms by her side and hiding her face in her knees. She started mumbling to herself all sorts of words but the phrase he heard the most was. "There is no one to help me."

"I will."

Slowly L took her hand which was closest to him and intertwined their fingers. This was a kind gesture with no romantic insinuations involved. He blamed himself for what happened to her, for what happened to every victim of Beyond Birthday. D would get through this and he was going to help her. With his help her chances increased a massive amount. Turning her head, she looked down at their hands and there was a small smile that lit up her features. She squeezed his hand with appreciation and started telling him the story she had made up for the couple she was sure he had seen through the many hidden cameras he had up over the place.


	14. Lair

**A/N: **Just a warning that this isn't a fluffy L-shot, there are implications of non-consensual sex (not between L and D though).

* * *

L is for... - 53. Lair

n. a secret or private place in which a person seeks concealment or seclusion

D kept her eyes closed as she woke up. The weight of an arm could be felt over her waist and thinking it was L, she leaned back into the body behind her. A moan emitted from the guy and it didn't sound anything like the insomniac she had gotten to know and love, she then remembered that L rarely slept, even if she was in the bed. Instantly she opening her eyes and found herself in unfamiliar surroundings.

Light was coming in through the large curtain-less window beside the bed and she was able to get a look around the place. It seemed like the typical bachelor pad, mess and dirty dishes were everywhere. She stilled as the arm around her pulled her in even closer and she could feel that whoever was behind her was naked. Gazing down at her own body, she didn't need to see it to know that she also was lacking any clothing. The wooziness left over from the drug he had given her was slowly fading away and she could feel an unwelcoming pain in-between her legs.

She knew there was likely a high possibility she had been raped. Although she was somewhat glad that she had been unconscious during it, the thought did not make her feel any better. Snoring sounded behind her and she wanted to get away from here, wherever _here_ was. While still lying down, she looked around the room and saw her bag on a nearby table. She remembered her cell phone being in it and needed to get to the device if she had any chance of contacting L or getting out of here.

Grabbing onto the wrist, she tried to pry it from around her. Slowly lifting the limb from her body, she shifted on the bed slightly to try and prevent the bed from moving. Any movement could wake up her kidnapper and that was the last thing she needed. Just when she was going to get off of the bed, he turned around so that he was facing away from her. She quickly stood and breathed deeply, there were two doors that she could see and what lay behind them was unknown.

She looked back over to her bag which was on one of the tables. The contents of it were scattered over the surface. Her cell phone was face down on the table and it was as if it started glowing, this was her chance to get out. As quietly as she could she tip-toed painstakingly slow over to it until a floorboard below her creaked, stilling her movements once again. The snoring could be heard and not wanting to risk looking behind her, she carried on making sure to take a mental note of which floorboard had made the noise.

When she reached her phone, the grin that appeared on her face couldn't be held back. All she needed to do now was get out of here and call L. She tried to turn on the cell phone first but nothing was working and the screen stayed black. Was it dead? Flipping the phone around, she took off the back and saw that the battery had been taken out. _No! No, no, no! _She wanted to shout out in frustration but that would definitely wake up the guy who captured her. Where was it? Quietly her hands lingered over all of the objects on the table, lightly touching them.

There was her compact mirror, a wad of cash that L gave her just before she left the hotel and other unnecessary pieces that she kept in the bag, just in case they were needed, but they never were. No thin phone battery could be seen. The tiny hope she had of contacting L and escaping had diminished. Thinking of any other possibilities she realised that the room had become quiet, too quiet. There was no more snoring behind her. She was scared to look. Had he woken up and was waiting for her to notice?

Slowly she turned around, expecting to see no one on the bed. The breath she was holding released when she saw he was still there, only on his stomach. The pillows were blocking out his snores. She silently hoped that the pillows suffocated him. Her eyes scanned the room again, looking for any beacon of rescue. It came in the form of another cell phone, _his_ phone. It was on the bedside table right next to him. His arm was outstretched and his hand covered half of it. Was getting it worth the risk? What if she actually woke him up the next time she made a mistake? What would he do to her if he found her trying to get out?

She had no other choice. There was a high chance he was going to kill her no matter what she did. Her best bet would be to try escaping and succeeding would be helpful as well. Being careful not to step on the squeaking floorboard, she made her way to the side of his bed he was on. She took care to not trip over any of the obstacles obscuring her path. Holding her breath once more, she tried to slide the cell phone towards her, out from under his hand. Luckily he wasn't touching the object so she didn't worry about him feeling the movement.

Once she had the phone in her hand, she stood up straight and moved away from him, able to breathe again. There were two doors to choose from. One of the doors she assumed led to the hallway and the other one which must've been the bathroom. Picking the obvious escape, D went over to it and tried to slowly turn the door knob but she was met with resistance. Trying again, nothing had changed. The door was locked. _Damn!_ She just wanted to bang her head against it, tears started to form in her eyes and blurring her vision because she knew there was no way she could leave without getting help to come to her.

Going through the other door, she had been right in guessing it was a bathroom. She was glad there was a lock and she locked the door behind her. Making sure the phone was on silent, D keyed in a memorised number. It was the number of the only person who would any chance of being able to find her. The phone on the other end started ringing. Its shrill tone kept going and she was scared that he was going to ignore it because it would be coming up as an unknown number. _Come on L, pick up! _Finally she heard it click as he answered.

"_Hello?"_

"L…" She whispered his name, scared that if she talked normally, the guy in the other room would wake up.

"_D! Where are you?"_

"I don't know…" The tears in her eyes started to fall as she silently sobbed over the phone. "I woke up naked. I think he… I think-" She heard some crashing happening on the other end of the phone as she was interrupted.

"_Don't say it. Find something to cover your body with and get out onto the street."_

The anger in his tone was evident. She looked around the bathroom for the first time and saw a couple of towels hanging over some rails. Grabbing one, she wrapped it around herself. She hadn't bothered thinking about her nakedness when she hoped to escape. What is a little humility if her life was saved?

"I tried the other door, it was locked. There is no other way out." She started to hyperventilate as the reality of her situation suddenly sank in. "It's _him_ L. You were right."

"_I'm always right, but that isn't important right now. Is there a window you can climb out of?"_

She went to stand on the toilet to reach the only window in the room. Looking out of it she saw that the apartment was nowhere near the ground. If she tried climbing out of the window she would fall and die anyway. Would it be a better death than what is installed for her if she stayed put? "I'm about seven storeys up. There are trees and other buildings."

"_Is there anything you can identify that would be some clue to where you are?"_

"No…" She looked around some more but it looked like anything other city she had visited. "The building opposite this one looks like it is filled with business firms. I can't see any signs… there is so much glass it is reflecting…" Her eyes widened as she could in the reflection how many storeys the building had that she was in. "I'm on the top floor, there are only seven storeys. There can't be that many apartment blocks with seven storeys right?" She was rambling on, trying to figure out a solution to her problem.

"_I'll have to research it… D, what's happening?"_

She had screamed when the door behind her started rattling, loud knocks were also heard. "Bitch! What are you doing in there? Who are you talking to?"

"He's woken up L. He's awake!" She was becoming hysterical and didn't bother trying to keep her voice low any more, there was no point. She screamed again when the room shook, he had tried to body slam the door open. "Hurry L, please! I don't want to die."

"_I promise you it won't come to that. We will find you in time."_

The lock of the door couldn't take any more pressure from the body slams and broke. She let out another ear-splitting scream and the guy had to cover his ears for a moment. Getting closer to her he slapped the cell phone out of her hand and it fell into the sink. Turning on the tap, he soaked the electronic device so it stopped working. Now no one would be able to find them with the GPS system inside the phone. He yanked her by the ponytail her hair was in and dragged her back through to the other room, throwing her onto the bed.

"You couldn't be a good girl, no, you had to go call some fucking guy and now I don't have a phone." He straddled her legs to stop them from kicking and held both of her wrists in one hand above her head. "You won't be save Dead. You are going to end up just like your name."

He leaning in close to her face, she didn't wait to find out what he was going to do and started gathering saliva in her mouth to spit at him. A slap was resounded throughout the room and her cheek stung with a sharp pain.

"You fucking bitch!" He shouted out, slapping her again on the other cheek and making her head face the other way. His mouth contorted into a smirk and it made her feel uneasy. "Do you feel the pain?" A single finger from his free hand trailed from her neck, down between her breasts and still going lower past her belly button. "Down here?"

She stopped moving as the fear gripped her. He had just confirmed what she had assumed but didn't want to believe was true. Up close she couldn't help but notice that he was an attractive man, but his sinister thoughts and actions detracted from it. Justice was going to get him, one way or another. D grimaced as she continued looking over him and saw his arousal was becoming more evident. Of course only a truly sick bastard would be getting off on this sort of thing.

"I'm going to do it to you again, this time you'll be conscious." He held onto her jaw and gave her a bruising rough kiss. She remained unresponsive, just wanting it to end quickly, wanting it all to be over. "While I'm fucking you, I will tell you exactly how you will die." He leaned forward and hovered over her, stroking himself as he talked. "Can't you hear the bells? The time of your life is almost up."

She screwed her eyes shut as he began, trying to get away from the reality of what was happening to her and his words of her impending death. Only one thought repeated itself in her mind, like a mantra, though it was more of a plea than anything else.

_Please L… get here soon_.


	15. Lucubration

**A/N: **Enjoy! x

* * *

L is for... - 26. Lucubration

n. laborious study, especially at night

"L." She whispered, lightly knocking on the door. "L, are you in there?"

It was a stupid question. There was nowhere else he would be. The familiar glow was under the closed door and she knew he was working, but for the third time since living at the hotel, she had a hard time falling asleep. Somehow being in his comfy bed helped her sleep when it was otherwise difficult. She knocked on the door again, not bothering to say anything and hoped that he could hear it. The soft padding sound of his footsteps coming closer made her stop and wait patiently.

The door creaked open a tiny bit and even though she couldn't see him, she knew only an eye was looking out at her. "What do you want D?"

"Can I come in please?" She asked. There was no point giving an explanation because he probably would've seen her tossing and turning in her bed for the last few hours over the camera feed.

Giving no reply, he opened the door even wider. When she entered the room he decided to talk. "I hope this isn't going to become a habit, I'm busy and I work my best during the night."

"It will be the last time, I promise." Whether the promise was going to be kept was another story, but it seemed to please the insomniac as he went to his spot on the bed in front of the computer. "What are you working on?"

"It is just a different case." L spoke offhandedly.

D walked over to the bed and crawled onto what she called _her side_ of the bed. She never made the mistake of trying to sleep on his side, ever since the first time she tried. Sitting in a position similar to his, she brought the covers up to her neck and rested her chin on her knees. Subconsciously she found herself gently biting on her thumbnail as she looked at him. He was concentrating on the screen of his computer. She wasn't close enough to see the details of whatever he was doing but that wasn't the object under her observation.

She looked him over from head to the little toe on his right foot. If she moved her head along with her eyes it would create an 'h' shape from the way he crouched. His hair had a lighter tinge to it as the glow from the screen was on it. The dark unruly strands seemed to have a mind of their own. She wondered if he would protest to her brushing it. Maybe with some gel she would be able to make it look as presentable as that of a normal respected detective. That way if people were to meet him, like she had, they wouldn't think he was crazy.

He sent her a sideways glance. "What are you doing?"

"I'm watching you." She replied and tilted her head to the side, eyes narrowing slightly.

Doing just what she said, she saw his Adam's apple bob every time he swallowed. She noticed that he was swallowing a lot more frequently than usual, not that she counted how many times he would normally swallow. Every now and then his eyes would flicker her way, his head would still be facing the screen but she could see his eyes moving. Knowing that she was probably getting on his nerves she smiled, her eyes moving downwards to the side of his body.

Like always, he was wearing his white long sleeved shirt. For a few seconds she wondered what his chest would look like underneath it. Did he have any muscles or was he just incredibly thin? She shook her head to try and get the naked chest in her mind out of it. Having enough to think about she didn't need the added thoughts of his body there but it didn't stop her from examining him, continuing their downward gaze until landing on his ass.

"Can you stop that?" L asked turning toward her and blocking the view she had. "It is very distracting and I'm hoping to get this case done before the sun comes up."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "But I'm not doing anything."

"Yes you are." He accused. "You are looking at me so intently that I can feel your eyes on me."

"Now you know how everyone else feels when you look at them." D tried her hardest not to bend over to the side while he faced her straight on. He made no move at giving her the profile view again. "Don't you have a case you want to finish?" She gritted through her teeth in frustration.

She wanted to finish her observation but refused to think that maybe she just wanted to see his ass again. After a few minutes of him just sitting there and staring at her silently, he turned around to face his computer, giving in because he really did want to finish the case. He knew that he could've just kicked her out, it was his room after all, but deep down he liked the way she looked at him with hidden fascination.

L was in jeans and D speculated if he would ever wear anything else. Was he a briefs man or a boxers man? Maybe he just went commando. _That_ brought an image to her mind which made her screw her eyes shut, but closing her eyes didn't help because it only made the picture clearer. Quickly opening them she moved to a safer area on his body, his knees. She decided that they could be wobbly and that was why he wore jeans. A laugh left her and L looked back over at her with a slight glare. This was one of those times that he wish he had the power to be a mind reader. What was she possibly thinking about?

"So what is your case about?" She asked out of nowhere, having only a tiny bit of interest in it.

L stilled and seemed to ponder whether he should tell her or not. After apparently thinking it would be fine, he answered. "There have been quite a few murders in London, but the victims don't seem to have any link between them. So I am trying to find that link."

"What about catching the murderer?"

"There have only been seven known deaths. I'm only getting paid to find a link." L turned his head towards her. "They will have to pay me more if they want me to catch the criminal, but with a link the work should be easier for them."

"Oh… okay." She decided to stay quiet and examine the last part of his body worth looking at.

D always admired how his feet were clean, even though they were always bare unless it was absolutely necessary for him to wear shoes. She remembered the dirty trainers he kept somewhere near the front of his hotel suite. _They_ definitely weren't clean and she wouldn't want to have her nose anywhere near them, knowing that they would smell horrible. She watched his toes twitch as he moved them, she was sure he didn't own a single pair of socks either. With her not so extremely thorough bodily inspection done, a yawn made its way out. Her mouth opened so wide that she needed to cover it with her hand out of modesty.

"You should sleep." L stated, his eyes never leaving the glowing screen.

"Are your feet clean?" She had to ask before her face would go any closer to them.

"I clean my feet regularly, you have nothing to worry about."

She wriggled under the covers and curled up around him because it was just how she slept when in his room. A final yawn left her lips and she murmured a good night while closing her eyes.

"Sleep tight." L whispered in a barely audible voice. Once he knew she was asleep, his eyes roamed over her face and hair which was the only visible parts of her, the rest being under the covers of his bed. He had his own examining to partake in now. "Don't let the bed bugs bite."


	16. Link

**A/N: **It was a coincidence that this number and the chapter number were the same, I think there are two other ones as well along the track. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 16. Link

v. make, form, or suggest a connection with or between

Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.

The noise became repetitive as L stirred the already copious amount of sugar in his tea with a silver spoon. D was sitting on the other side of the couch away from him and was trying to read a novel she had found in Watari's hotel room. Even though she was sure any sugar in the cup was already dissolved in the hot liquid, he didn't stop the circular movement and the sound of the spoon knocking the side became annoying.

Clink. Clink. Clink. Clink.

"Will you stop that already? There is no more sugar to stir in there!" She shouted at him, throwing her arms in the air with exasperation.

"Isn't there?" L asked.

He looked down at his teacup which he was yet to take a sip from and then his gaze turned to the sugar bowl in the middle of the table. Leaning over in her crouched position, L grabbed the sugar bowl and tipped the rest of its contents into his tea. She wondered how he was able to stay balanced, if she had tried the same manoeuvre, she would be sprawled on the floor. The cup had been filled with so much white cubes that they piled above the liquid, which was close to overflowing.

"Now there is sugar in it." L continued moving the spoon and turned the liquid and solids into a sludge-like paste.

D grimaced as she watched him take a sip from the cup and gave an involuntary shiver. He probably would've been able to consume it the same with a fork, it looked that thick. She was going to make sure he never was in charge of giving her tea or coffee of any kind. Shivering again she shook her head. "There _was_ sugar in it before. You were just stirring it too much."

"This tastes much better though." L looked over at her as she shivered and did a gag reflex when he sipped some more. "Are you okay? Is it too cold in here? Are you going to be sick?"

"No, I'm fine." She went back to her book and decided to ignore him again. D would've been better off just staying in her room, but there was something about L's silent company that she enjoyed. He didn't feel like he had to fill the space with words and was content with staying quiet for long periods of time. Apparently today he seemed to be in a talkative mood.

"Can you get me some cake from the kitchen?" He asked after a lengthy silence, breaking the only thing that made him bearable.

"Get it yourself. The kitchen is only a room away."

"But you are closer." L moved nearer to her and leaned forward. "Please?"

When she lowered the book to have a look at him, she had heard he was close but didn't realise just how close he was. All she needed to do was rock forward and their lips would be touching. _Don't close your eyes. _If she did, she would definitely imagine kissing him. D backed away as far as she could, into the side of the couch. Turning towards the kitchen door she noted that they were the same distance away from it, so his argument was invalid. Shaking her head again, she hit him on the forehead with the book trying to knock him backwards but he didn't move. On her second attempt he grabbed her wrist and removed the novel from her hand.

"Please?" He was extremely close to her that when he spoke she could feel his breath on her neck as he whispered into her ear. "You can help yourself to a piece as well if you want. We have reason for a celebration."

"What is the reason?" She asked, last time she check it wasn't either of their birthdays and she didn't know when Watari's was.

"I've narrowed the list of BB-copycat suspects down to two men."

D's eyes widened. This was big news. She knew that they started out with thousands of suspects. No one in the L.A. region was left out. L must've been spending a lot more time than he let on, figuring out who it could possibly be. Having come to the decision of only two people was an improvement. They could move forward with this information, becoming closer to catching the criminal before anyone else needed to die. The last thing she wanted was another death in the name of BB.

"Who are they? How did you eliminate the others?" Many questions were swirling around in her head, but she knew that L wouldn't have the patience for all of them so she only asked a few.

"Get me some cake and I will answer those questions." L had his thumb to his mouth and a goofy grin on his face because he knew she was going to do exactly what he had originally asked a few minutes earlier.

Narrowing her eyes and huffing out loud, D slowly went to the kitchen and took her time cutting up one large piece of cake. She wasn't hungry and didn't particularly like eating sweet food often. If she had her way, L wouldn't be eating anything unhealthy. But he was a detective, one man who had the brain of over twenty intellectual masterminds, who was also mostly known to her as a spoilt brat and he got what he wanted. Whether it was from her or Watari depended on who was available.

"Here's your cake." She spoke so sweetly that sugar would've fallen from her mouth if she kept it open.

"Thank you D." He took the plate from her hands and also the fork she provided. Taking a bite of the cake and not bothering to wait until he swallowed, L started talking in-between chewing. "The names of the two suspects are Aaron Smith and Giles Irvin."

"How did you come to the decision that they could be the BB-copycat killers?" D didn't recognise the names at all but then she shouldn't have been surprised. Why would she want to recognise a possible murderer's name?

"That was the easiest part. It is really simple actually..." He was baiting her, wanting her to get him to elaborate but she just stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "…they look like me."

"Are you sure you should be basing suspects on the way they look?" She couldn't believe it and when he handed her their profiles with photos attached she had to agree that they did look a lot like him, creepily so. Looking like L also meant looking like BB. "No one knows what you truly look like, apart from a select few individuals, and there were no pictures released of how Beyond Birthday looked."

L had finished his cake in record time and took the profiles from her. "Of course I checked their locations. They both live fairly close to where all the new murders have so far taken place."

"Seems too much of a coincidence, don't you think?"

"I can guarantee with ninety-five percent certainty that one of these men are murdering victims very much alike Beyond Birthday." He hummed and nodded afterwards as if agreeing with himself.

She didn't know why, but as soon as he spoke the percentage she had faith that he was correct. The only question that was left was how they were going to find out which one of the two was the killer. "We need to find out how either of them could be connected to each crime scene."

"That is where you become important." She could almost hear the _for once_ at the end of the sentence in his voice. "I've had Watari move some things into the laboratory below. You need to get down there and start working."

"But I-"

"_I've_ done the hard boring work and now you will pick up the slack." L grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the exit of his hotel room, pushing her out into the hallway. "Remember I have lots of cameras in there, so I will know if you are doing your job or not!"


	17. Larceny

**A/N: **Here's another one. Enjoy! x

* * *

L is for... - 21. Larceny

n. theft of personal property

Strangely when she went to knock on his door it swung open. It wasn't locked and also hadn't been fully closed. She could hear the shower going on in the bathroom and knew she only had a few minutes before he was going to be out again. Luckily he didn't have any cameras in his own room so he wouldn't know that she snuck in and was about to take something of his. She only wanted one object, that would hopefully bring him down from the pedestal he seemed to put himself up on.

For a clean room, searching it for the specific item was a lot harder than she thought. All she wanted was his cell phone. She would hide it from him and see how he would react. He didn't use it often but when he did it was like his oxygen. _If I were L's cell phone, where would I be?_ Knowing L as she did, he would've taken it into the bathroom with him, but there was no way she would go in there to check. He would be naked and that wasn't an image she wanted to encounter.

The computer was on sleep, needing a password to get into it. She didn't think there was any point trying to figure out what it was and he would only become alerted of it happening if she tried. For a second she was tempted to sleep on the forbidden part of his bed as she eyed it from one side of the room. That was shortly dismissed as she saw the object she was looking for in one of the most obvious places. Having overlooked it before, she went to the bedside table and held the cell phone in her hands.

D wanted to laugh. For once L would have lost at something and more specifically _lost something_. She felt like she had gotten away with murder. But just like any other case he had chosen, he would find the killer. It was only a matter of time. Making sure everything was in place, when she heard the shower get turned off, she left the room. In the fridge of his hotel room was bound to be some sugary sweet that she could tempt him with. Make L not become suspicious of her actions for being here.

Being sure that his cell phone was safely in her purse which hung from her shoulder by a chain and having a plated cake in her hand, D walked to his bedroom for the second time in less than ten minutes and knocked on his door. "L, are you in there?"

"Yes." L replied, not bothering to voice that she could enter because he knew she would anyway, whether he wanted it or not. The door was still not properly closed and she pushed it open with her hip.

"I thought you might like some cake." He was sitting in front of his computer and for a split second her gaze went to the empty bedside table.

She hoped he didn't notice her as he was too busy typing in some long password. If she paid attention, D would be able to try and memorise it since he typed each key slowly with the tips of both his forefingers. Placing the small plate on the table at the same time that he reached for it, their hands touched and she quickly let go of the plate to move away from him. Luckily it had already been on the table so the cake was not wasted. L would've surely reprimanded her if the cake had fallen onto the ground. Her purse seemed to heat up at the thought of him figuring out the actual crime she had committed in this very room a few minutes beforehand.

"That's _awfully_ kind of you D. Thank you." Holding up a fork with a forefinger and thumb, L took a piece out of the cake and put it in his mouth.

He chewed loudly to show his appreciation, though for most people it would disgust them, she had gotten used to it. L rarely ever thanked her outside of getting some sugar filled dessert. Bowing out of respect and already being very out of character, D left the room in a hurry. She had to be careful to not gain his attention, but she feared it may have been too late. Getting into her own hotel room, she threw her bag, momentarily forgetting that L's cell phone was in it, onto the couch.

A few hours went by and over that time D had the distinct feeling of being watched. It wasn't hard because she knew of the cameras in her rooms but she started feeling uneasy and started fidgeting, not being able to stay still. Having enough of it, she grabbed her purse and went into her room, deciding to have a shower in the bathroom connected with her bedroom. She was able to relax a lot as the spray of hot water rained down on her, warming her skin and insides. With a towel wrapped around her body, she entered her room and screamed. Sitting on her bed was L and he had his cell phone in one of his hands.

"You took something that wasn't yours D..." He smirked at her and waved the phone in front of him. "I think I am going to have to punish you."

"What… how?" She didn't know which question to ask first so joined them without elaborating any more. If he was truly a great detective he would know what she meant.

"Close your eyes." L said. When she didn't do what he had asked, he questioned her again. "Do you trust me?"

"No." D had said the word quickly and thought she saw hurt cross over his features before quickly disappearing. She shook her head thinking it must've been her imagination. "I know you won't hurt me but I don't trust you."

He stood and had an arm behind his back, which had been there from the beginning. The cell phone he was holding was placed on her bed and he walked closer to her. She instantly started walking backwards and into the bathroom, not thinking straight to lock the door when she entered. L probably had a key with him and would've opened it back up anyway. She had her back against the tiled wall and he was standing close to her. As soon as she blinked D felt cold metal around her wrist and the sound of something locking.

Looking down she saw that there was a handcuff around her wrist connected with a chain. Following the chain, it linked with L's wrist which was in a similar predicament, but obviously more willing than her own. "What is this for?" D asked as she held up her arm.

"You don't trust me and I can't trust you." L walked away and tugged on the chain to pull her with him, she was just glad it wasn't around her neck. The towel around her started to loosen, so she tightened her grip on it to prevent it from falling. "This is an extra precaution to stop you from stealing from me again. I need to watch you and what better way than having you with me at all times."

"This is ridiculous!" She shouted at him. "I'm not even dressed!"

He turned around to face her. "Feel free to get changed right now. I will need to watch to make sure you aren't going to hide any weapons and use for harm, either to me or self-inflicted."

"Pervert." D muttered under her breath and kept the towel where it was.

"I'm hungry. We need to go down to the restaurant." L announced and continued moving to the exit.

"Wait! I'm not dressed!" She repeated and tried tugging on the chain to stop his movements, but nothing worked. "Can't we just order room service?"

"That might be a good idea." He stated thoughtfully. "Then when the boy comes around, he would think I have slept with you because you are practically naked." L looked over at her knowing it would get on her nerves. "Did you enjoy your shower? I wasn't by my computer long enough to see it all."

D narrowed her eyes at him. "There is a reason you are alone L. I think this is it."

Room service came almost half an hour after the food had been ordered. L decided he wanted every desert of the list and being hungry herself she order plenty of main dishes for the both of them which she planned on eating all by herself. Just as L had predicted the boy who gave them the food had wide eyes when he saw D. He looked barely legal to be thinking such dirty thoughts and gave L a knowing wink, whispering 'nice catch!' before leaving. She was also given a knowing smile on the way out with waggling eyebrows as well.

They ate in silence, which was a surprise for her because she half expected L to make some lewd comments after room service had arrived. D tried to stifle the yawn that was threatening to take her over, but she couldn't do anything apart from cover her mouth in an attempt to hide it. L's watchful eyes saw it and he announced that she should go to sleep.

"Are you going to take this chain off now?" She asked hopefully, never to admit that she had kind of gotten used to the chain linking them together.

"No. Just go to sleep, I will follow." D was about to walk into her room when the pulling of the chain stopped her. "I've changed my mind. Following will make me seem submissive, I like to be dominant and in charge."

Rolling her eyes, she was made to follow him back into his hotel room. At that moment she was too tired to care and quickly went under the blankets on _her_ side of the bed, while he perched on top with the computer in front of him.

"I would offer you one of my shirts but you wouldn't be able to wear it because of the chain." L explained, keeping his focus on the computer screen.

"Good night L." D didn't care that she was only in a towel anymore and as long as he made no moves on her while she was asleep everything would be fine.

"I just thought you would want to know something D." L started quietly, but she was so tired and almost sleeping that she could barely hear his voice. "If you had paid closer attention to the handcuff on your wrist you would've noticed that there was a little switch that would've allowed you to remove it."

_Damn him to the burning depths of hell_.


	18. Lynch

**A/N: **Warning: This is a morbid-ish chapter. Despite the content, enjoy! x

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L is for... - 54. Lynch

tr. v. to punish without legal process or authority, especially by hanging, for a perceived offense or as an act of bigotry

Her eyes opened and she was awake. The dull wooziness that fogged her mind made D close her eyes again, if only for a moment. This would be the second time that day she had woken up. It reminded her of how over a year ago, BB had drugged her shortly after making his way into her old condo. The similarities were too much for her to handle and she felt a sickness in her stomach slowly rising for what was going to happen to her.

Right after her kidnapper, who was also the BB-copycat killer had his way with her more than once, he drugged her again. The drug must've been a smaller dose because it didn't seem as if she was out for long and her mind was clearing faster. She tried to get up from the bed but found it difficult because her arms were above her head. Bending her head backwards she saw that her wrists had been tied together with a thick piece of rope and joined to the headboard.

_I am going to kill you._

It was what he told her hours beforehand, in much greater detail than she preferred to hear. D closed her eyes, wanting it all to be just one huge nightmare and to wake up next to L again. Why did she have to insist on going shopping yesterday? Why did he let her go by herself? It was one of those moments where because of the consequences that she was in, she regretted ever coming up with what caused it. Much similar to accidently breaking her favourite beaker because she felt like moving it, instead of broken shards, D was going to have a broken soul.

The feeling of dread combined with nausea became overwhelming. She could feel her eyes burning up with newly formed tears. They slid down the side of her face as she lay on her back. A few drops fell onto the mattress below her. Not being able to hold it in any longer, she turned her head to the side and threw up what little contents was in her stomach. She was careful not to get any vomit on herself but didn't care that it landed on some of his clothing.

_There are a lot more people on BB's side than you would think. I am the only one strong enough to go through with this. Killing you was what he wanted and I am going to fulfil his wish. BB believed you should die and you will._

She had no idea how he knew as much as he did. Everything was supposed to be confidential. There must've been a hacker who took a look at the specific files they wanted. D struggled, trying to loosen the rope around her wrists. Her efforts became more desperate when she looked over at him. He was only sitting at the table, but in his hands was a long and well-made piece of thick rope and he was tying it up to form a noose. Taking great care in his work, she could see the concentration he was putting towards it. There was only going to be one shot at this and he wanted it to work the first time.

"I see you're awake." It was the same voice, the one she could hear in her mind as it repeated his words.

_There is a wide windowsill outside this room, in front of the large window with a huge metal loop attached to it. After I create the noose, I am going to tie it to the loop and then place the other end around your neck._

"You don't have to do this!" She cried out, her teary eyes widened as he put down the rope and stalked over to her. She could almost feel the way his fingers had clenched around her neck, pretending to be the noose he was creating. "Hand me in and I can make sure nothing bad will happen. We can both walk away unharmed." D was shaking her head, trying to get away from him. What she said was a lie, only because she had already been harmed.

"I don't think so." He said, trailing a finger where her tears were falling. "After all this planning, I am going to follow through with it." He bent closer and whispered in her ear. "I am going to kill you."

_I will push you off and you will fall. With the force created by your falling, your neck would break and you will die instantly. The rope is strong enough not to snap and it also won't cut through your neck._

She had to hold onto the thought that L was going to arrive and he was going to save her. The body heat next to her moved away and she started to shiver, reminding her of the lack of clothing she had on. It wouldn't surprise her if he didn't even bother dressing her. The rope was now in his hands and he walked to the large window, opening it up and stepping out onto the windowsill. If only she hadn't been tied up, then she would be able to push him off and finish this whole ordeal.

He stared at her in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. The enjoyment in his eyes wasn't because of how she looked. It was all to do with what was about to happen to her. A death, her death, that was looming closer and any hope was slowly fading away. Her struggling started up again but if she wasn't able to escape by now, she knew that it was useless to try. Unless she received a miracle, she was staying here until he decided.

_You will be left hanging until someone finds you._

"Stop it." He said a bit louder than necessary, he didn't like the way she looked as if she was lost in her mind with her thoughts. She needed to be fully conscious for what he was going to do. He was now straddling her and leaning over to where she was tied up. "I'm trying to let you go."

"Really?" Her hope rose and could be heard in her voice, for a brief moment the tears stopped forming. She should've known it was too good to be true.

He started laughing and smirked down at her, knowing exactly what he had done. "No, you really are pathetic."

_Does this feel good? Tell me you want it. Your life will be much better when you're dead, there won't be anything else to worry about._

As soon as she felt the restraints from around her wrists loosen and fall away, D started bucking and pushing. Doing anything that would help give her the advantage and a chance of escaping. None of it worked, he was too strong and had been expecting that sort of reaction from her. She didn't seem the type to give up without a fight. It is one of the traits about her he liked, but she wasn't going to be staying here long enough for him to enjoy it. He slapped her, taking delight in the cry of pain she gave.

"Please! I'll do anything." She didn't want it to come down to begging but when her death was a few minutes away, any female pride she had was already buried. In the grave that should be getting dug for her and along with her hope. "You don't have to kill me. Just keep me for yourself. Please, please don't kill me." If there had been a book written about how to beg for one's life, she wished she had read it because he didn't seem to be getting swayed.

"As tempting as you are, it is not going to happen." He dragged her over to the window and she tried to make herself as heavy as possible to make his task difficult. It wasn't working and she could already feel the breeze the closer to the window she got.

_There is nothing you can do to stop your death. It is going to happen. Your time is almost up._

"No!" She screamed and continued screaming thinking that now there was an open window at least _someone_ should hear her. D kicked and clawed, but his hold on her was too great and it only succeeded in angering him. She felt like a child having a temper tantrum, if the situation was anything else she would've been humiliated with her actions.

"Bitch!" He yelled out when she managed to kick him in the shin. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled on it hard, pain coursed through her.

Being much closer to the window, D had a fleeting thought. If she was going to die, maybe she could take him with her? He was closest to the windowsill as he was pulling her towards it. Not think much over the idea and not having time to think it through, she suddenly rushed at him, pushing all of her weight into his body. She had hoped that he would lose his balance and the both of them would go tumbling out of the window. It worked against her when he used her momentum to turn around so that she was standing on the windowsill. He had to pull her close to him when she leaned backwards because he didn't want her falling off.

With her slightly distracted, he was able to pick up the noose and held it close to her head. She could feel the rough fibres of the rope scratching her cheek. "Are you ready to die?" He asked, positioning the noose above her.

D wriggled all she could without moving backwards. If he couldn't get the rope around her neck, then his plan wouldn't work and she could still live. It felt like she was pulling at strings for ideas, trying to prevent the inevitable from happening. The longer she took to die, the closer L could get to save her. _No_. Any hope of being saved was ridiculous. If she couldn't save herself, then there wasn't any point thinking someone else would be able to.

Something tightened around her neck and she stopped her movements instantly. He had gotten the noose around her. "This would've been much easier if I just drugged you again, but I want you to see your own death."

He turned her around so she was facing away from the window. If D hadn't been naked, standing seven storeys in the air and about to die, she probably would've enjoyed the view. It was much better than the view from the hotel, apart from when it was night time and the moon was out. There was loud knocking and shouting to be heard from outside the apartment, in the hallway. Were they here to help her? Or was it just a nosy neighbour?

"Fuck! We don't have long." He slowly made her shuffle closer to the edge.

Looking down, she suddenly knew that being up high was something she didn't like. It could've just been because of her death was about to happen, but she still didn't like it nevertheless. Her life had taken a strange turn ever since meeting L and she couldn't bring herself to regret anything even though this was her outcome. To think that if she had never met BB, she wouldn't have met the greatest detective with all his quirks.

"Stop! Don't do it! I'll pay you anything."

D smiled without meaning to do it when she heard L's voice, it couldn't be real and she was imagining it. Although he wasn't able to keep his promise, he might make it in time to catch the BB-copycat. The hands on her bare back steadied themselves and she could feel the breath of her killer on what little of her neck was exposed, the small hairs rising on their ends.

_I forgive you, L_.

She felt the push from behind and she screwed her eyes shut, hoping that L would never see her body as it was. He didn't need the torment it would cause him. All the moments they spent together, good and bad, flitted quickly through her mind. He was going to live and he was going to be a great person. The world needed him and it saddened her that she wasn't going to be spending any more time with him. A final smile was on her lips as she felt the air rushing upwards because nothing was underneath her feet. She had time to think of three final words and pictured him clearly in her mind before everything went black.

_I love you_.


	19. Ladder

**A/N: **There will be another one tomorrow. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 23. Ladder

n. a structure consisting of a series of bars or steps between two upright lengths of wood, metal, or rope, used for climbing up or down something

"L, can we go out?" She asked through the locked door to his bedroom.

"I don't have the time for a girlfriend, especially not a demanding one like you." His voice was just heard and she assumed he was still sitting at his computer.

"What?" It took her a while to understand what he had said. "I'm not demanding! I don't want a smug asshole like you as my boyfriend and it wasn't what I was asking. I just want to go to the library."

The door opened and L walked out into the suite. "You are demonstrating just how demanding you can be. What's wrong with staying at the hotel?"

"I want a book on quantum entanglement."

"I suppose we could leave for a little bit, but you have to be quick." He looked over at D as she nodded enthusiastically.

There was already a limousine waiting for them on the street and when they got into it, the vehicle drove off to the destination. The trip was quiet and she couldn't help but be wary of the rare smile that L was sported on his face. She soon forgot about it as the limousine slowed down to a stop, right outside a building.

She entered the large doors of the huge library with her mouth hanging open ready to catch flies. This place must've been the centre of every nerd's dream. She had been expecting that he would take her to a little one down the road from the hotel. The walls were lined with monstrous shelves filled with every book imaginable and all sections were in in alphabetical order, not one book would be misplaced. The shelves in the middle of what would've been an expanse area created a maze, surely she would get lost if L didn't stay by her side. Looking over to where L should've been, he was gone. She hoped that he had put cameras in this building because it would be the only way he was going to find her once she was amidst the shelves.

Why she wanted the book wasn't important but it might have something to do with L. Being allowed out of the hotel for a bit and coming to this library had just been an added bonus. While she was inside her mind, her feet had moved on their own accord and just like she predicted, looking around the place and surrounded by shelves, she was lost. Arrows showed her which part of the library she needed to go in to get to the science section, but none showed her where the exit was.

The shelves were so tall that rolling ladders were attached to each one, to be able to reach to top rows of books. It was just her luck that she couldn't find the one she wanted on the bottom rows and had to climb the ladder to get up to the higher ones. She shook the ladder a bit, making sure it was sturdy. The last thing she wanted was to fall off and break her back. Giving herself a small nod, she deemed it worthy.

Her heart beat a little faster than normal as she slowly ascended each step. Once in the middle she started reading the spines of the books in her line of sight, more disappointment arose when she hadn't seen her book yet. Maybe she should've gone to a computer first, just to see if it hadn't been issued out already. Right then it wasn't the height that bothered her, only the uncertainty of whether she was safe. After a few more steps, she was too lazy to get any higher and just strained her neck to read.

Not finding the book she wanted, but finding a similar title, D used the books in front of her as leverage to push the ladder in the direction of that book. She enjoyed the little thrill that overcame her as self-made wind, by the movement she was creating, passed through her hair. A nice cool feeling compared to the stuffy air in the library. It was too good to be true and didn't last when by some disaster she had lost her footing, even though she was standing still, and could feel herself falling backwards. Trying to grab the closest things to her which was a ladder rail and a book, the book easily fell away from the shelve rendering it useless and her fingers started to slip from the rail because of the sweat accumulated from being in the humid area.

_I'm going to die! I'm going to die!_

She was falling. If she wanted lots of cool air to pass her by, she was getting it. Her eyes were closed shut expecting the hard thump she would make from hitting the ground, which would also surely shatter her spine and kill her. It never came and instead, she felt arms catch her until they also crumbled under her weight, cushioning her once death impending fall. An 'omph' was heard from whoever had caught her and she quickly got up to help them up. Thanking and apologising to the person profusely until she saw who it was.

"L…"

"Is the name of the man who just saved your life, with the way you were falling, you would've only had an eighteen percent chance of survival. Forty-three percent chance of being a vegetable for the rest of your life and becoming useless to me." He rubbed his ass and hissed at the touch, an obvious sign that it was a bit tender. "For someone as slim as yourself, you sure are heavy."

"I may be heavy but at least I'm not part bird!" She didn't know whether he had been joking with his previous comment, but D assumed he wasn't because L rarely joked about anything. It hurt her a little bit when he said it. Did he want her to think she had some sort of weight problem? "I'm sure if you had measured the rate at which I was falling, you would find that my weight is normal and you are just too weak to be able to handle it."

"Who is part bird?" He ignored the rest of what she said.

_You_. D thought to herself, but she didn't want to hurt his unemotional feelings. Plus she would have to explain how she had come to the conclusion and he would insist on proving her wrong. "A pigeon."

"A pigeon _is_ a bird." L stated matter-of-factly.

"No." She shook her head and could see his nose twitch slightly with annoyance. "It is part bird_ and_ part rat."

"You are wrong." He picked up the book which was on the ground due to her fall. "Is there a reason you wanted a book about the female and male anatomy?"

"No, you must've seen me when I was falling. I just grabbed a random book." She was going to grab it from him but decided against it because she would then need to climb the ladder to put it back. "The book I want isn't here."

"I just remembered something…" L said, trailing off as if deep in thought.

"What is it?" She was curious, but knew he wouldn't answer her unless he wanted to.

"I came here last week, but I forgot to bring back a book I had gotten out about quantum entanglement." He shrugged his shoulders as if it didn't matter. "It must still be in my hotel room, I guess we will just have to come back later to return it."

"Wait, you've had the book all this time?"

His wide eyes looked into hers, blinking slowly. "Oh, was it the reason you wanted to come here?" He acted innocent but she also remembered telling him exactly why she wanted to come to a library.

"I hate you L, I really do."


	20. Lust

**A/N: **This is probably the closest I have written to a lemon. *blushes* (I can be such a prude when I want to be). It isn't a full lemon but still make sure you have the necessary remedies for this steamy scene. Any constructive criticism is welcomed for it as well. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 47. Lust

n. very strong sexual desire

"I'm going to have a shower." L announced suddenly, in what D thought was an unnecessary manner.

They were sitting on the couch in his hotel suite. Two empty teacups were on the table in front of them. He had been taking a break and she enjoyed being around him without the restrictions of needing to be quiet. Of course, she was silent and relished in the peace of being close to him. L stood up and left the room to go into his bedroom, he left the door open and she wondered if he was expecting her to follow. After a while, D couldn't hear any running water and was tempted to check out what he was up to. She didn't have to wait long because he left his bedroom with a fluffy white towel in his hands.

"My shower isn't working. I'm going to have to use your one." He left without another word being said or waiting for her reply.

She stayed in her spot on the couch, still going over the one-sided conversation in her mind. He had left his bedroom door wide open and she became instantly suspicious. D got up and went into the room, planning on going to his shower and check for herself whether it was broken or not. Movement on his computer screen distracted her and she decided to take a closer look, noting how strange it was for the computer not to be locked. A camera view filled the entire screen and she recognised it as the inside of her bathroom.

A gasp left her lips when L came into view and she covered her mouth. Quickly looking behind her to see if anyone was watching, she decided it would be safer if she shut the door and locked it. The last thing D wanted was for Watari to turn up and find out what she was up to. Her eyes stayed glued to the computer screen and she sat on the bed in the crouch position L always sat in.

D felt naughty as she watched him place the towel on a heated rail and turn on the shower. At the angle of the camera, she could see the water spray from the shower head and begin to heat up, shown by the steam that started to slowly fill the room. L was taking his time and making sure that the shower was at the right temperature for him to use. He looked in the mirror a few times and she could tell that every few seconds his eyes would concentrate on the camera but his face would stay in the same position.

_Arrogant bastard_. She came to the conclusion that he had planned this all out, being only seventy-one percent sure. He was obviously just pretending to be occupied when he was really waiting. L, being a smart detective, knew that she would either try to check if the shower was actually broken or curiosity would overtake her because he had left his bedroom door open. He had been right, like any other time, and she waited herself for what was about to happen.

He finished looking in the mirror and moved to the middle of the room, conveniently facing the camera. Slouched over, L lifted his arms and grabbed the back of his white long sleeved shirt, slowly pulling it over his head. His pale chest was visible and D wanted a zoom button for the camera to appear. There probably was one, but it would take time to find it and she could also end up cancelling the camera footage somehow, something she didn't want to happen.

Content with the view she had, she watched his hands hover above the front of his jeans. He unbuttoned the only button there was on them and she could see dark tuffs of pubic hair poking out the top as it was undone. Turning around so that his back was facing her, he unzipped the jeans and just like his shirt, slowly pushed them down and over his hips until his bare ass was showing. D finally realised that he was giving her a private show and although this wasn't the first time she had seen him naked before, she felt the decent thing to do would be to stop watching, but her eyes were staying on the screen and nothing would convince her to look away.

_Turn around_. She wanted to see all of him. He raised his arms above his head and stretched his back, if there was audio she would've probably heard it cracking due to it being hunched over all the time. Finally he turned around, bit by bit. Her eyes widen as she stared at his nether regions, his size always surprised her. If his brain was L's best feature, the proof of his male genes was a close second. There wasn't anything to complain about in that department.

She watched one of his hands trail down his barely noticeable taut stomach and move further down until it wrapped around the base of his manhood. He started stroking it and she could see his lips moving as if he was talking. She cursed because of the lack of audio, really wanting to know what he was saying. His pale skin started glistening due to the heat of the room and D was fanning herself with a hand because the temperature in the bedroom increased a few notches as well, though there was no actual cause apart from her own arousal.

L stayed standing, continuing the up and down movement of his hand. He leant his head back and she was scared he would fall over, but she remembered how well he could balance, all those times crouching really paid off. The steam started fogging up the glass of the camera until the image was blurred to the point that nothing could be seen through it.

"No! Dammit!" She yelled out and secretly wished L had installed wipers for the camera.

It was no use, the camera wasn't going to become clean any time soon and there was only one way for her to finish watching him. Quickly standing, she rushed through his hotel suite and into her own one, finding that the bedroom and bathroom doors were also wide open. Entering the bathroom, she couldn't see the naked L anywhere and began to wonder where he was or if it had been her imagination.

"It is about time you turned up." L whispered in her ear from behind. He had been hiding behind the door when he heard her enter the suite.

She jumped at his voice and wanted to turn around to face him but his hands held onto her waist, preventing her from turning. He moved their bodies forward so they were both facing the mirror. His eyes were clouded with an emotion she knew too well because being as close to him as she was now, she felt the same thing. They looked at each other through the reflection of the mirror and she was waiting for his next move.

"I want you to take your clothes off." When she moved her hands to do as he said, he stopped them for a few seconds. "You can't take your eyes off me though."

D nodded and kept her eyes on him. Her hands moved to the hem of her top, it took a lot of her concentration to not look down at what she was doing. She lifted it over her head, breaking the eye contact temporarily and dropped it onto the ground. L's hands went to the soft skin of her flat stomach, tracing circles around her belly button. Shorts were the next article of clothing to fall from her body and she was left in her lace underwear. D leaned back, rubbing her ass against his hardening manhood, smiling when she saw his eyes flutter close and a groan left his lips.

"You're too slow." L muttered with his lips on her neck, moving her hair over to the other shoulder. "Much too slow for my taste."

After the word 'taste', he licked the shell of her ear. His hands were occupied with the clasp of her bra and when it was removed, L revealed her breasts. Covering each one, he gave them both a squeeze at the same time and then pushed them together. A childish grin lit up his features. He held a nipple between his thumbs and forefingers, twisting them and receiving a moan from D. She pushed her panties off and rubbed her legs together to try and relieve some of the tension building up between her lower limbs.

Taking one of her hands, he led her to the shower, testing the water before pulling her in with him. His hands were on her shoulders and moved down her bare back. L was able to feel the little scars that adorned her otherwise flawless skin and was surprised she hadn't shied away from his touch. They reached her ass and gave it a quick squeeze before taking a better hold of it and lifting her up with strength that was always hidden away. Her legs wrapped around his waist and he pushed her up against the tiled wall, the hot water beating down on the both of them.

Her mouth search for his lips, needing a kiss to start satiating her hunger, when they were found there was no gentleness. Only raw passion that was barely contained fuelled them. His tongue entered her mouth and was instantly pushed back by her own. They both wanted some sort of dominance and one of them would have to give in eventually. Tearing his mouth away from hers, L kissed her neck and down to her chest. He took a nipple into his mouth and started sucking and licking the peak. D wriggled in his arms and against the wall to try and create some friction in-between them.

She reached down between them and wrapped her fingers around his manhood. For a second she thought his knees would buckle underneath them, but he still stood as tall as he was capable of. Her hand moved similarly to the way he had moved his own, she could feel his breathing getting heavier. Tightening her grip only slightly and L nipping her a bit harder than gentle, they both moaned at the feelings that were caused.

"Let me do this." Holding her up with one arm and also using the wall as leverage, he grabbed onto his member and began teasing her with the tip. "Do you want it?" He asked in a tone deep with desire.

"Yes…" She breathed.

They needed to move somewhere more comfortable, L surmised. As strong as he was, when they start he would soon become weak. D no longer felt the warmth of the water against her skin and slightly shivered when she landed on the cool blanket of her bed. He was above her and looking down into her eyes. They were still wet and she knew the sheets would need to get changed after they were done, for more than one reason.

"Are you ready?" He asked. Ninety-five percent positive of what her answer would be.

Looking up at him, she lightly bit her lower lip. "L, I was just wondering…"

"What is it?" He tried to resist the urge of rolling his eyes but was unsuccessful.

"Why don't you wear underwear?" She batted her eyelashes trying to look innocent but didn't think she pulled it off.

L sighed, but silently laughed at her. "Can't this wait until after we are done?" When she shook her he, he quickly answered her. "The same reason I don't like wearing shoes."

"Oh, okay." D moved against him and reached up to pull on his unruly hair. "I'm ready now."

That was all he wanted to hear and the answer he had been waiting for.


	21. Lips

**A/N: **Sorry for the late update. I will try make them quicker from now and on. Enjoy! x

* * *

L is for... - 36. Lips

n. two fleshy parts that form the upper and lower edges of the opening of the mouth

She watched him as he took a stem from a bowl of cherry stems and placed it into his mouth. L looked like he was chewing for a bit, until he raised his hand to his lips, the same cherry stem was removed. The only difference was this now had a knot in the middle of it. He did the same to every other stems until the bowl was filled up with perfectly centred knotted cherry stems. D puckered her lips and licked to moisten them as she watched a new cherry from a different bowl enter his mouth.

The cherry stem was placed to the side and D grabbed it, popping the little stick into her mouth. She tried to copy L and chewed the stick for a bit. When she felt it was flexible enough, that was when she moved her tongue trying to manipulate the stem into a knot but she only succeeded in snapping it in half. Taking out the broken and slightly splinted stem she placed it next to the bowl of his perfectly knotted ones, a look of envy on her face.

"You were doing it wrong." L commented, pretending to still be concentrating on his computer screen.

"I can see that." D muttered, eyeing up the new pile of cherry stems on the table. She wanted to try again but knew that he would just brag about his own talent if she were to fail for a second time. Sucking in her pride, D faced him. "So… how do you tie a knot in it?"

"I think you should just stick to using your hands." He said with a small smirk on his lips.

"B-but…" The rest of her sentence never made it out of her mouth as L gave a sigh, pretending to be annoyed and that she was wasting his precious time.

He turned to face, taking a single cherry stem and started chewing on it. "There's only one way you could possibly tie a knot in this." He mumbled.

"How?" D asked confused.

L grabbed the back of her head and pulled her closer to him. He wasted no time to kiss her and D gasped when she felt a sharp prod of the stick trying to pass through her lips. With her mouth open, L was able to push the stem into it along with his tongue. She had no idea what she was meant to be doing and could feel him moving the stem against her tongue. It felt weird. D was close to just pulling away and putting an end to their little game but it was over soon enough anyway.

"Bite." He said against her lips and D did exactly as she was told, her teeth holding onto one end of the stem. L pulled away from her even more and in-between them was a knotted cherry stem. It was as perfect as his previous attempts but it wasn't split like her attempt. With widened eyes, she looked at it, holding the little thing closer. She was sure her eyes were playing tricks. "See? You did it easily."

D frowned at him. "I didn't do anything…"

"True, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without _you_." He placed his hands on her knees and leaned in so that their noses were touching and she had so cross her eyes to see him somewhat properly.

"I'm sure the bowl of knotted cherry stems over there and the broken one would disagree with you."

"This one…" L took the cherry stem she was holding and tapped her on the forehead with it. "…would agree with me. It only takes one to make a difference."

She laughed and threw the cherry stem onto the table when he would keep flicking her with it. "Sort of reminds me of someone."

"If by someone you mean me, then you would be correct."

"Is that so?" D said with a small smile playing on her lips. "I was thinking that someone like Watari made a bigger difference. I mean, he used to be an inventor and founded Wammy's House. _He_ is the one that found you as well. Everything you are is because of him."

He mumbled something incoherent as if agreeing to what she said but not wanting to fully admit that she was right. "I still make a big difference by myself."

"You did make a big difference in my life." She said, looking down at her hands which were fidgeting with his.

Using a finger to lift her chin, he gave her a chaste kiss before gently biting her lower lip and leaning back so that she would follow him into a horizontal position. D gave a little squeal when L flipped them over so he was on top. He kissed each of her cheeks and then moved his lips to her ear, lightly grazing the lobe. One of his hands found its way under her top and was rubbing circles on the bare skin her waist. She wondered what he was up to and was deciding whether to question him about it or not.

"Do you know what they say about people who can tie cherry stems with only their tongues?" L asked, licking the shell of her ear.

"They have too much spare time?" D jokingly answered.

She could feel his eyes rolling as his eyelashes fluttered against her cheek. "No…" He muttered, placing tiny kisses along her jaw and down her neck.

"Humour me L, what do they say about people who can tie cherry stems with only their tongues?" She pushed him up when feeling him bite her neck experimentally and also so she could look into his eyes, through them she could see the smile that lit up his features.

"People like me are extremely good kissers." L stated matter-of-factly.

"Well unless you are going to tie my tongue in a knot, I think it is a very useless skill." D said as she watched him move down her body.

"It also means I have strong tongue muscles." He licked his lips as if relaying a silent message to her. "You have to remember, I'm the best at _everything_ I do."

"Even socialising?"

"Perhaps not that…" L got up and went over to his computer, ignoring the way D pouted at him. "This is why I actually need your help."

That got her attention and she moved to his side and rested her head on his shoulder, looking at the computer screen in front of them. "What do you need help with?"

"There have been a string of murders. Each victim has been male and a red lipstick kiss has been left on each of their foreheads." He explained, bringing up a picture of each dead male. There were at least ten of them. "I need you to buy lots of lipstick so we can try and find a match."

"That sounds easy enough. There won't be an exact lip match though, I'm not the killer." D said and got off the bed. She searched one of his dresser drawers where she knew a wad of cash was hidden.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, you do have a deadly kiss at times." She didn't reply and just shook her head at his lame attempt of a joke. "It also wouldn't be a bad idea if you got some for yourself. Pretty you up a bit more." L muttered. Obviously unaware that she could still hear him clearly.

"Maybe I should buy you a new wardrobe while I'm at it as well. Make you a bit more presentable." She replied in a bitter manner as she left the room, leaving the guy to wonder what exactly he said to get her in the mood.

"Wait!" L called out, she came back in the room with an eyebrow raised. "Remember to take Watari with you and while you are out shopping, can you get me some more sweets? I'm running out." D huffed and left again without a word. L heard the hotel suite door slam shut, shaking the room slightly. "I'll take that as a 'no' then…"


	22. Logic

**A/N: **This is a bit on the serious side. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 46. Logic

n. reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity

"Aaron Smith is the BB-copycat killer!" L's shout filled the silent hotel suite and D started choking on her tea in surprise. "I am ninety-three percent sure of it."

She ignored him and went back to reading her book. It didn't escape her notice when the couch shifted under his weight when he came into the lounge area and sat next to her. D tried not to flinch or react when she could feel him staring at her, paying in no attention to mind of her personal space, though he would debate that her space was also his space. He stayed in the same position for over ten minutes until he couldn't take the silence and being ignored any longer.

"Don't you want to know how I figured it out?" L asked. His breath was tickling the side of her face causing her to scrunch up her nose and lean away from him.

"No." D said as she turned so her back was facing him.

He wouldn't take it for an answer and started tracing patterns lightly on her back. Soon he was just touching each and every scar he could see that wasn't covered by the material of her thin strapped top. His lips found the visible scars and he kissed each one. He thought back to the day when D had been saved by Naomi and wondered how it felt to be hit with the weapon which created these wounds. She shied away from him as if hearing his thought and went to the furthest side of the couch.

"Stop it." She said, trying to feign an annoyed tone. But he could tell the difference because he had been on the receiving end of her annoyance before. "I'm not interested right now, tell me later." She held up the book so it covered her face, she had read the previous line about five times already. D could feel him prodding her shoulder, it wasn't hurting, but frustrated her that she needed to slowly count to ten in her head. "L…"

"D…" He sounded the one letter out to last for five seconds, much like the way she said his name.

Her eyes narrowed at the realisation that he was enjoying this. A hand appeared above her and tried to take the book out of her hands. The fingers holding it clamped down on both ends and they began a tug of war. "Let… it… go!" D said in-between pulls.

When he was about to tug really hard, she decided to let it go and the momentum caused him to fall off the couch. A smile of satisfaction lit up her features when she heard a groan on the floor. The table had been knocked and her tea managed to find a way to stain his white shirt. _That _made her frown, not because the shirt now had a light brown smudge on it, but she didn't have any more tea.

"Just let me tell you and I'll get out of your hair." He expressed an opposite, literal point by climbing back onto the couch and twirling a strand of hair which hadn't made it into the ponytail and looked very out of place.

"Promise?" D glanced at him briefly.

"Uh… there's a seventy-five percent chance that I will end up wanting something else and begin annoying you again until I get what I want." He gave her a half shrug. "Let me remind you that I _always_ get what I want." His fingered trailed down her neck and along her arm.

She sighed. There was no book to hide behind because it was still on the floor and she didn't remember which page she had been reading. Finally facing him, D asked. "How did you figure it out?"

"Chocolate." L spoke with a completely serious face as if he had just told her that breathing oxygen was necessary for beings to live.

It took a while for her to realise what he had said. Coming to her senses, she pointed to the kitchen. "There still should be a block of it in there."

"No. That's how I figured it out. Chocolate was the clue."

By now D was thinking that chocolate was what filled his brain and his being a _genius_ was just a well-placed bunch of perfect guesses. "Chocolate was the clue?" She repeated with disbelief in her voice. Her lips formed the ghost of a smirk and she tried not to laugh at him.

"Yes, I can't believe it took me this long to figure out. If only I had…" L thought back to a couple of weeks earlier, when she had been out at a local bar where the two suspects frequented.

"Nothing bad happened. So explain this theory you must've had." D would be lying if she said she wasn't a little bit interested.

"It was quite simple really, you see…" L started.

_Here we go again. Why did I even bother?_ Her head dropped into her hands as she heard the self-righteous tone he used. Sure, it was simple for the brilliant detective who had the mind capability of twelve or so government agency firms.

"…each suspect looks like me. Just like Beyond Birthday did." He took out two pictures of the men. Even having met one of them face-to-face, the likeness was still creepy. "You mentioned how Beyond enjoyed sweet things when you were with him, just like me. So I thought, what do these two like?" L lifted each photo in front of her with both forefingers and thumbs.

"They like chocolate?" She guessed because it seemed the most rational answer from his clue.

"Wrong." He ripped one of the photos and she had no idea how she could tell them apart, unless their names were on the back. "Giles is a vegan. I mean a hard-core vegan and he is allergic to chocolate." L made a face to show his dislike of the fact.

D laughed at him. "Here I thought I would be able to get you to eat something healthy, I guess I was wrong."

"Aaron is almost exactly like me. He likes sweet things and his last three jobs have been nightshift. His medical records show that he suffered from insomnia when younger. He _isn't_ a genius like me and his taste in clothes is horrid."

"At least he has more than two items of clothing in his wardrobe." She muttered, taking the photograph from his hand. "You say you are ninety-three percent sure?"

"If you agree with me, I think it could increase to ninety-four…" He spoke with a thumb to his lips.

"Oh. So my opinion is only worth one percent." D said under her breath before talking more loudly. "Great, so when do we catch him?"

"Well, I'm still working that out." L stood and went back into his bedroom. She followed him but only after she picked her book from the ground. "There have been no records of living arrangements. Parents are dead. I don't know where he lives."

"Have you tried following him?"

"Yes. I had some FBI agents follow the both of them. One was easy, lives in a one bedroom house and the other…"

"…led you astray." She finished for him, sitting down beside him on the bed, deciding to take his stained shirt off and throwing it behind her on the floor. "Take a break, I think you have deserved." D messed up his hair which didn't make it look any different from normal.

"I can't." His tone darkened and he fingered his keyboard, typing in some sort of code into a program.

"There's something you're not telling me." When he stayed quiet, she pressed on. "What is it?"

"I… have an idea of who his last victim will be." He hoped that she would tell him to stop, but D was silent, waiting for him to tell her. L gave a strained sigh and refused to look at her. "Beyond Birthday was right, I am ninety-nine percent certain it will be you."


	23. Love

**A/N: **Here it is, enjoy! x

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L is for... - 37. Love

n. an intense feeling of deep affection

She was angry at him. Once again, L refused to let her leave the hotel and she was getting sick of it. Sure he could stay inside for days at a time. She was positive the amount of weeks he had spent outside in the sun, in his whole life, could be counted on one hand. It would explain why he was so pale that he seemed one colour segment away from translucent. D was having a temper tantrum all throughout her hotel suite, knowing he could see her and was probably laughing to himself about it.

_Annoying asshole!_

If anyone was staying in the suite below her one, she wouldn't be surprised if they were getting annoyed. It probably sounded like an elephant was rampaging in the rooms above. D threw herself onto the couch, giving a loud aggravated sigh of frustration and anger. Why did she have to be a victim? Was she not able to live a normal life? When would this be over? When would whoever the copycat is, get caught? She didn't know the answers and was pretty sure if she asked L, he would be ambiguous about the whole matter.

_Smug bastard!_

They had been _exclusive_ for the last couple of months. It wasn't as if anyone else knew about or if she had anyone to tell, apart from Watari who hadn't made one comment on the matter. If she did, what would she say? 'I'm going out with the great detective L.' No one would believe her, they would label her crazy. She could imagine their reactions, 'why would this supposed L want to be with _you _of all people?' Guess she was just lucky.

_Oh, lucky me indeed_.

When she agreed to be his, she knew everything had to be left behind. It wasn't as if she had much of a life since Beyond Birthday's attempt to kill her. She ran away from her old life and made no actual friends in her new one before meeting L face-to-face. Her parents hadn't even bothered trying to contact her. That was it. She had enough of being holed up and was going to go out, if only for an hour.

L might be able to live off of reused musty air because he can lock himself in his room for days at a time but D needed the fresh stuff every now and then. Going to her bedroom, she grabbed all the essentials and placed them in a handbag. Heading to the door, she opened it without looking through the peek hole. She had no reason to because it wasn't as if anyone knocked. The consequence was that D bumped straight into the slouching L who made a very good wall.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked, walking in and over her form which had fallen onto the ground.

She was rubbing her bottom as she stood up, scowling at him. "Where I go is none of your business!"

"But it is." L said, without explaining any further. She tried to leave since he was out of the way but felt his hand grab onto her shoulder and drag her backwards. "You wellbeing and safety is my responsibility, so it is relevant when I ask you where you're going, _especially_ when I specifically told you not to go out."

"Urgh!" She yelled at him when he shoved her into the bedroom, closing the door on her so he was on the other side. "You're so annoying!" D shouted some more, banging her fists on the closed door. Trying to open it was useless because he was pushing against it and was much stronger than her. "Open the door!"

"You're a walking disaster." There was a thud on the other side and she assumed he was leaning on the door in his crouching position. "The door is staying closed until you calm down and think rationally."

"Think rationally?" She repeated. "I'm not like you L. I'm never going to be like you!" She tried to look around the room to find anything she could throw at the door, but wouldn't break. "You're so… so irritating and… don't even get me started about all the weird quirks you have!" D had moved into the bathroom, looking for either and escape or throwing object and had to yell louder. "Don't ask me why I like you because right now, I haven't the faintest clue! You're a detective, maybe you could find it for me!"

L, having heard the distance of her voice, even though she tried to mask it by being louder, quickly opened the door and went to the bathroom and closed that door on her. She had even less space to move about and felt like just exploding. Was she overreacting? Probably. But she wasn't someone who liked staying in one place constantly, D needed to be able to move and that also meant going outside and getting fresh air. Opening a window just wouldn't cut it.

"D, you need to calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down L. This is all your fault!" This time she could try pulling the door open, but had to be careful in case he let go. "Let me out!"

"You blame me but I can't help it that I'm in love with you." L said. He closed his mouth straight away. That l-word was not supposed to have come out. For once he hadn't been thinking. Would she think it too soon and run away? He coughed awkwardly when hearing nothing on the other side of the door.

D had stilled from her pulling. Did she hear him correctly? Her fuse had been doused by what L said, but she needed him to confirm it because it could've been her imagination. She had dreamed about his confession many times but they never turned out like this. "What did you say?"

He wasn't sure if her reaction was something to be happy or worried about. "I have no idea what you're asking."

"If you think rationally then you might." She tried pulling on the door and found no resistance. In front of her was an embarrassed looking L, who was staring at his toes which were fidgeting, with a pale pink blush on his cheeks. "Is it true? When you said that you are..?" D couldn't bring herself to say it.

L looked up, briefly catching her eyes. "Do you want it to be true?"

"Yes." She replied instantly. "I want you to love me."

"Well, I do. Just don't get me to say it again." L held out a hand for her and pulled her close to him when she held it. "Wait until Watari gets back and you can go to whatever shop you want and buy anything." He kissed her cheek and stared into her eyes. "I would hate myself if anything happened to you. I would rather bare your hate for me if I lock you in a room, if it meant you would still live."

"I think I will just stay in your bedroom with you." D said, following him when he started walking away. "I didn't really want to get anything important, it can wait."

"Good." He tried not to sound haughty when he said it. The last thing he wanted was for D to start having _another_ tantrum. "There is something I wanted to show you." He added just to be safe and tried to think up of something before they made it to his computer.

"L..?" D said to get his attention. She stayed at his door and was just looking at him.

"What is it?"

"I love you too."

_Good_. He felt like saying again but didn't want to push his luck. Keeping silent, he motioned her over with a single finger, but not before telling her to shut the door.


	24. Lonely

**A/N: **Urgh, late update I know. Sorry! This is another time when the L-shot number matches the chapter number. xD Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 24. Lonely

adj. sad because one has no friends or company

"L!" D called out, knocking on his door loudly. There was no reply but she still continued. "I know you're in there! Open up!"

Nothing. Still no reply came from the other side and she found it strange that she couldn't even hear the sound of shuffling behind the door. _What was he doing in there?_ L had just finished a case the day before and she didn't want to believe that he took another one up so quickly. D tried opening the door again, just to make sure it wasn't locked the first few times, but she was met with the familiar resistance. The door didn't move.

"Bastard." She muttered under her breath before yelling at him. "I didn't want to come in any way!"

"If that is the case, can you move?" A voice behind her spoke. "You know where the exit is, so I won't need to show you it. I'm sure it will be able to get opened as well."

D jumped and spun around, facing L who stood there smirking at her. "B-but I thought you were in there?" She pointed at his closed bedroom door. "It is locked. I know it can only be locked from the inside."

He tilted his head to the side. "It isn't locked."

"Yes it is. I'll show you." She turned back around and twisted the door knob. This time, the door opened with ease. She stared at the doorway shocked, as L walked passed her and into the bedroom. "H-how? How did you do that? I swear it was locked when I last tried it!"

He crouched onto his bed in front of the computer screen. "Magic."

"It can't be that! Magic isn't even real." She was examining the door for any sort of mechanism that would give her the answer she wanted. There was nothing she could visibly see. Was something built inside it? D wouldn't put it past the detective to do something like that.

"Well now it couldn't have been magic because you don't believe." L thoughtfully placed his thumb to his lips as if seriously thinking of a solution. "I've noticed that you're a really weak person. Maybe your strength has increased."

"I am not weak!" She angrily stomped into the bedroom, up to L and pushed him. He didn't move, even though she was sure with his sitting position, it would tip him off balance. It only infuriated her more for him to smile at her smugly. "I refuse to believe you!"

"You're in denial D."

She didn't reply and just huffed at him. Crawling on the bed, D lay on her side and curled up tightly in a ball. There had been a reason for her wanting to go into L's room. As of late, the realisation of never having a normal life with normal friends became evident. She had accepted it at the very beginning but now she wasn't so sure it was what she wanted, not that a choice was given to her. Nothing in her life would ever be normal again.

"I thought you didn't want to come in."

"Fine, I'll leave." She got off the bed but stopped when something tugged on her hand. She saw L tentatively holding onto her fingers, preventing her from going any further. It was probably good that she wasn't wearing a skirt, or else it would've been what he pulled on. "What is it?" She really wanted to ask why he chose to stop her. Didn't he want her out of the room?

"What is wrong?" He asked, ignoring her question.

She couldn't look him in the eyes and stared at the bland wallpapered walls instead. "Nothing."

"Whenever a woman says that, it always means there_ is_ something wrong." L leaned in closely to her so that their noses were touching. "What is wrong?"

"It's… uh…" D had to lean back. He was getting too close for comfort. "When is _this_ case going to end?" She knew that he would know she was talking about the BB-copycat one. "These other cases you take on the side are never this long."

"It should only take a couple more months. There is a fourteen percent chance it will last up to my birthday." L said, his eyes were still on her, looking out for all the miniscule changes of her facial expressions to give away what was actually wrong with her. "The hardest part will be finding out how to figure out which is the criminal from the two suspects."

"How can you do that with only two murders?" She tried thinking back to the small amount of details he had given her concerning the case. Even though she possibly had a large part in it, she was only given the need-to-know information.

"We wait for a third one." He pulled on her hand which he was still holding, so she was back on the bed again.

"That's a bit… wrong, don't you think?" D got back into her position, curled up beside him with her eyes closed. He was still holding onto the fingers of her right hand, making it difficult to get into a comfortable position.

"Beyond Birthday deliberately left clues for me at the crime scene. Whoever is doing these ones, is leaving everything clean. He doesn't want to be caught."

"What would you say to the victim's family? When there is another murder…" She knew it would happen, sooner or later, and it didn't make her feel any better about the situation.

"I wouldn't say anything. That is not my job. My job is to catch the perpetrator." L looked down at her when he heard her gasp. D had her eyes wide open.

_Does he have no heart?_ "If it isn't your job, why did you contact my parents at the very beginning?"

He was silent and she could only hear his typing, though it was slower than usual. "I guess you are just special." She sat up after hearing his words with a large smile on her face. Her mouth was opening to say something when he quickly interrupted her before she was able to get anything out. "Watari happened to be busy, so I had to do it."

"You really know how to show someone you care." She muttered to herself, removing her hand from his grip and getting under the covers of his bed.

"Do you plan on staying the night?" He asked, briefly glancing at her.

"Not the whole night, just for a little while." D turned around so her back was facing him. "I'll be out of here soon."

"For some reason, I don't believe you." L murmured, leaning in closer to the computer screen when something caught his eye.

"You must feel alone a lot of the time." She had meant to only think the words, but they came out before she could stop them. "I mean… because… that's how I feel sometimes." It was the best explanation she could come up with, for blurting the first part aloud.

"With you around, it has made my life more interesting." He mused to himself. Her breathing was slowly evening out and he couldn't tell whether she was able to listen to him or not. "I will definitely know what it will be like to be alone once this case is over."

"What about Watari? He will still be with you."

"He is more like a father figure to me." L turned the screen of his computer off, making the room completely dark. He wanted to think to himself in the silence and knew it would be the fastest way for her to find sleep.

"Don't worry about it L." D yawned before speaking again. "By the time this case is over, I would've gotten used to you that I won't want to leave."

"Make sure to sleep a lot then." He stared up at the ceiling, his eyes had just gotten used to the darkness. "It is the only time I am able to fully concentrate."

L got no reply and he contemplated lying down next to her. Deciding it would be better if he didn't because he knew how much she moved while being asleep. He stood up and went to his bedroom door. Hopefully Watari was back by now with his sugary sweets.


	25. Lactate

**A/N: **I know the last few chapters have been pretty short. The next one should be longer. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 9. Lactate

v. secrete milk

"L, stop it! People are looking at you." D whispered at him when she came back after ordering and hit his arm. "It's embarrassing!"

In the short time she'd been around L, she found out about the little odd quirks he had. It started out with the crouching and then the massive amounts of sugar he ate. He would chew on his thumbnail when a particularly hard problem entered his mind, mainly when he was working on a case. She suspected he never changed his clothes, since he always wore the same thing daily. But his white shirt would always be spotlessly clean, even with all the messy food he ate. Didn't he ever get the urge to wipe his hands on it? That was when she found out about the white cloth he kept in his pocket for those occasions.

She hadn't gotten used to any of them, but what she was witnessing him doing in that moment was just wrong in her opinion. They were sitting outside a bakery after she just ordered for them and L's eyes were glued to the table beside theirs. A woman sat there with a friend and she had a piece of cloth covering her front and shoulder. It was obvious she was breast-feeding and it was also obvious that he was staring with a rapt look in his eyes.

"Do you not also find it interesting?" He asked without taking his eyes away from the woman. She was glad the two of them hadn't noticed him yet, the same couldn't be said to those walking pass the bakery.

"No I don't." She spotted one of the bakery assistants walking over to them. "Oh look! Our sweets and drinks are here. If you stop what you're doing I will feed you."

L didn't divert his attention and left his mouth hanging open as if the food would decide to enter on its own accord. When he received no food, he began talking instead. "I must point out that their observation skills are horrendous. How much more obvious can I get?"

_He's doing this on purpose?_ She felt like slamming her head on the table multiple times to knock herself out. Did he have no dignity? Spotting his sockless toes curling around the edge of his seat and also the grubby shoes on the ground, her question had been answered.

The friend of the breast-feeding woman took that moment to finally noticed L. At first she seemed shocked and quickly looked away when she saw him staring. Her gaze quickly returned and her eyes narrowed at him. She pointed him out while saying something to her friend. D couldn't hear specific words by the tone of her voice didn't sound very kind and she could only imagine that what was coming out of her mouth wasn't nice.

"Ah, maybe I was wrong." L stated with a smirk.

_You're never wrong_. D kept the words to herself knowing how much it would inflate his already too big ego. _I don't think this is going to end well_.

A horrified expression covered the woman's face as she turned around and saw L staring at her. Instinctively she held the baby in her arms closer to her body. "What are you looking at?"

"Don't worry about me." L waved a hand at the woman who was putting the baby back into the carrier and fixing herself up. "Please, carry on and if it's no trouble, I wouldn't mind getting a closer look."

"Pervert!" It was the friend who shouted at him and D slouched in her seat, becoming as small as possible to try and remain unnoticed. The two women got up from their seats leaving half-eaten food and walked away.

"It wasn't as if I could see anything." L muttered turning back around. His lips formed a pout which D may have found adorable if not for the situation he had gotten into. "Well she shouldn't breast-feed in the middle of the afternoon if she didn't want people to watch."

_Please, whenever I am out with L, never let this happen again._ She prayed and started eating her banana cake while taking momentary sips of her milkshake. D refused to be disgusted enough to not have her drink after the scene that was caused. "Normal people would be polite and look away."

He looked down at his clothed chest and pinched the places where his own nipples would be. "I wonder if I had a baby, would I be able to feed it the same way."

"You should already know that it isn't possible." She watched him daintily pick up his sweet fruit tart and take small bites out of it. Apparently he gained an appetite, now there was nothing to distract him from his food. "Promise me you won't ever have a baby. The world can only handle one of you in it at a time."

"We could insert my sperm into you and you can have my baby." L continued the strange conversation, ignoring everything she had just said. "Then I'll be able to watch you feeding it."

D choked on the remnants of her cake, tiny beads of unshed tears appeared at the corner of her eyes as she looked into his. "You've got to be kidding me."

He shook his head and tipped more sugar into his tea. "You should already know, I never joke."

"Go find a surrogate to have your baby with, but don't expect Watari to look after it for you." She looked across the street, watching all the strangers walking to their destinations. Something weird caught her eye but when she blinked there wasn't anything to see and thought it must've been her imagination to begin with.

"That's what you will be for." L said, still using a serious tone. He looked at her when she didn't give him another smart remark and saw she wasn't even paying attention to him. "D." No response. "D… D!" He started clicking his fingers near her ear and repeated her name until she blinked a few times and sheepishly looked his way.

"Could you repeat what you said?" She asked, not being able to remember the last thing that was said between them.

"That's what-" He abruptly stopped what he was about to say and decided to ask a question instead. "Is something the matter?"

"No…" She turned her head so it was facing the other side of the road again and began laughing. It was the first time he thought she may have lost her sanity. "It couldn't have been…" D muttered to herself but he could hear her clearly. "Just my imagination…" She didn't sound convinced of what she was saying, which made it hard for him to believe as well.

"What's wrong?" He sounded worried. Looking the same way she had been, he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"I just thought…" D had to take a few deep breaths before getting the courage to tell L something that would definitely make him think she was crazy. "I thought I had seen Beyond Birthday." She rested the coolness of her milkshake cup against her forehead. "But that is impossible, right? He's in prison and also would have burn marks all over his skin."

"You are probably beginning to suffer from post-traumatic stress, nothing to worry about." L said confidently, he couldn't see anything himself that would prove his diagnosis wrong. "If you see anything else, be sure to tell me straight away. Remember you are still sane, even if you can see things which aren't actually there."

"Okay." She smiled at him, which almost made him change his mind about her sanity. "Maybe you're not such a bad guy after all."

"Does that mean you will have my baby?"

Her eyes widened and then she remembered their previous conversation. "No way. Not me. Not ever!"


	26. Late

**A/N: **I would like to thank _**Awen** **Sofer** _for beta'ing this chapter. A warning that tissues may be needed when reading this. Although it is a sad chapter, enjoy! x

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L is for... - 26. Late

adj. doing something or taking place after the expected, proper, or usual time

It was too late. _He_ was too late. She was dead.

L sat on the single bed in the bedroom of her hotel suite. In one hand was a bottle of whiskey he _borrowed_ from Watari and in the other was the locket she had forgotten to wear on the day he let her go shopping. The day he found out she had been kidnapped; the day before she was murdered. His sight was blurred, and he couldn't tell whether it was because of the tears running down his cheeks or the consumption of a lot of alcohol.

His mind projected an image and it was all he could see. In front of him was the limp and lifeless body belonging to _her_. How long until he would stop seeing it? His insomnia had worsened over the last week because he refused to close his eyes. Whenever they shut, he could only see her. There were times he would be caught unaware, pondering on thoughts, only to wake up and realise he had fallen asleep. How much longer did he need to suffer?

"_Stop! Don't do it! I'll pay you anything."_

_L couldn't believe his eyes when he watched the naked back of D fall from his view. Everything inside of him stopped and he couldn't move. In front of him he saw what was happening but couldn't form any coherent thoughts about it. Images of the last few seconds were on replay inside his mind. The guy who pushed her turned around with a sinister smile on his face. It was like looking into a mirror and viewing some hidden evil within himself._

"_How does it feel to know that your girlfriend is no longer breathing?" Aaron asked L. "It has to hurt a little bit, even for an emotionless guy like yourself?"_

It all felt like a never ending nightmare.

He took another swig from the bottle, no longer being able to taste the liquid as it went down his throat. Everything up to this moment had been his fault and now he was wallowing in guilt, self-pity and grief. The alcohol was supposed to make him forget, but it only made him remember the horrid details even more. He was the best detective alive, yet on the one case which was more significant to him than any other, he failed. Who was he to call himself justice, when the most important female in his life ended up dead? It wasn't fair – life just wasn't fair. How was he going to continue with this weighing down on him?_ I couldn't do it D, I just couldn't._

_An officer, who entered the apartment with him, handcuffed Aaron while not caring if the criminal got roughed up in the process. L's eyes were on the other two officers who were pulling up D's body from outside. He refused to look away when she came into sight. Nothing could change the events of what happened and he would torture himself continuously as a reminder of the consequences for making a mistake. There were bruises marring her delicate skin and only when the body bag was zipped fully, did he look away._

"_What shall we do with this guy?" The first officer asked L, wanting some sort of direction even though he did this on a weekly basis._

_L eyed the gun that the officer had on his hip. All he would need to do is ask for it. No matter what he did, no one would question him. They could make up some lie and it would be believed. It was _this_ guy which killed her. He deserved death more than anyone else in his opinion. What was the point of justice if he ended up getting away with it? L took a deep breath and tried to remove himself from the present situation. He was letting his emotions take over and needed to take an objective view of everything._

"_Put him in the car."_

_The officer raised an eyebrow at him as if guessing what was going on inside the detective's mind. "Are you sure?"_

_L shook his head, giving his true answer but spoke different words. "I'm sure."_

Another death won't right anything.

Would he have felt better if he had taken the gun and pulled the trigger? L shook his head, answering his own question. Nothing could bring her back. He stared at the locket, keeping it closed. He was scared to look inside it. _Had she known?_ It was certainly a shock to him when he found out, but it only made him more upset at his mistake. If he had known, he wouldn't have let her out of his sight. No matter how much she would've despised him for it, he would've done more to keep her safe.

"_I want to see her."_ _L was in the morgue where D's body was staying, talking to the doctor in charge of her. "I want to know everything."_

_The guy who thoroughly examined her started to look uncomfortable under his scrutiny. "I don't know if that is such a good idea."_

_Not wasting any more words, L walked over to the stainless steel table in the middle of the room. A blanket covered her body, but didn't obscure the shape. Lifting it up a little bit, he pulled the blanket until only her face and shoulders were uncovered. Dark purple bruises with a rope pattern could be seen clearly around her neck against the deathly pale skin. He choked a sob back, reminding himself that he needed to see this. It still didn't help with his guilt. The room was cold, just like her body and the feeling inside his heart._

"_Tell me." His fingers automatically went to a strand of her hair and he twirled it around his finger. This time it felt different, it felt wrong._

"_Semen which is identical to the BB-copycat's was found in her genital canal."_

"_She was raped." L didn't need to say it aloud, but he wanted to feel the pain. It mocked him because he was still alive and D wouldn't ever feel anything again._

"_There is one more thing…"_

"_What is it?"_

"_L, I'm sorry." The doctor took a deep breath before continuing. "She was three months pregnant."_

Glass shattered and liquid dripped down the wall.

L threw the liquor bottle, hard. It didn't matter if there was going to be stains in here; the staff of the hotel would clean up the mess. Money solved everything, but it wouldn't bring back D or the little child who was growing inside her._ Had she known?_ The question kept going around in his mind, no amount of resources or intelligence would give him the correct answer. He only had his speculations. If she had, why did she keep it from him?

_Broken. He came back to his hotel room and broke everything. His computer lay in pieces on the ground. L knew he was acting like a child who hadn't gotten his way but he also knew no one would blame him. There would always be a new computer, new living arrangements and even a new case. What he would never get back would be the love he had. Locking himself in his room was the only option he could think of having. The longer he stayed in this one spot, the most he can make out of her presence which wasn't there anymore._

_Suddenly he stood and with his hunched back he walked over to the bed. _Her_ side of the bed. For the first time, L stretched out his body. With his face in the pillow, he could faintly smell her scent. It was enough to make him remember all the times they spent together. The time they first met to the last day he saw her and all the times in-between. He fell asleep with images of her laughing and teasing him. When he woke up, his room was cleaned of the mess he caused._

He was a coward. He was going to run away.

This was going to be the last day he spent at the hotel. He didn't want to be reminded of his mistake. Going back to England was the best option for him. He could take her body and have a burial at Wammy's House. The children that met her there would probably want to say good bye even if the younger ones wouldn't understand exactly what happened. The world was important, he knew that. To continue working, L was going to lock away everything he held dear to him.

_Forgive me D._

The truth was: L purposely let her go out on that morning. Knowing that she would escape from the chauffeur and he knew she would get kidnapped. It was his plan to catch the criminal. A drastic measure, but L was sure it would work. The plan would be to follow them back to the BB-copycat killer's hideout, but something went wrong and he lost her. Aaron ended up being a lot smarter than L had given him credit for and that was his second mistake.

It was his fault and he would forever blame himself. Clutching the locket even tighter in his hand, tears ran down his cheeks from his closed eyes. He knew she wouldn't want him to act this way. Taking a deep breath he stood from the bed and slowly walked out of the room. Looking back one more time, he closed the door. Not only did he shut the one that connected to the hotel bedroom, but also the one in his mind.

_I love you._


	27. Larvae

**A/N: **I would like to thank _**Awen Sofer** _for reading over this for me. Sorry for such a long wait. Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 25. Larvae

n. the active immature forms of an insect

"What are you doing D?"

The warm breath she felt on her neck made her jump and she dropped the jar she was holding filled with maggots. "Dammit L!" D yelled at him in frustration. "At least let me know you're here before scaring me like that."

"I thought you would've heard the elevator… apparently not." He bent down picking up a few of the wriggling maggots and held them in his hand, completely ignoring the broken glass around him. "I didn't think you had any friends, are you going to name them?"

"I'm trying to work. What are you doing here?" She looked him over and was disappointed that once again he failed to put on all the safety gear required and how he was in his bare feet.

"The dead body has arrived." L pointed to the sheet covered mass by the elevator. "The underground parking lot had to be used or else it would've caused quite a scene in the hotel lobby."

D's eyes widened and she rushed over to it. She had been waiting for this to arrive for a few hours and it was finally here. She removed the sheet and immediately regretted her decision. The corpse underneath didn't have a recognisable face anymore. Abrasions covered the arms and a large cut went through the torso. Everything below the waist seemed untouched. Fighting back the sob she felt like releasing over thinking about what this woman must've suffered, D started pulling the trolley and placing it right next to the table.

"What do we plan on doing?" He stared intently at her and also the uncovered body in front of him.

"I don't know what _we _plan on doing, but I know what _I'm_ going to do." She turned towards him and had to grab a hold of his wrist when he tried to experimentally touch the dead body. "Do you really plan on staying?"

L nodded, his thumb making its way to his mouth. "I have to make sure you do your job properly."

"Of course." D muttered but pointed to the protective gear to the side. "Put those on and you can help me."

L obediently listened to her as she gave him instructions. It was a pleasure for her to be able to order him around instead of it being the other way around. Maggots were already crawling on the dead body when it was found and D had specifically asked for them to be kept during the move. She planned on cutting them open and using their insides for various tests. Not only would she be able to find out the DNA of the victim but she would also be able to tell what sorts of drugs were used beforehand, if there were any.

"The jars have been labelled!" He pointed to the jars which had his messy scrawl over them; _head_,_ neck _and_ body_ could barely be made out."Can I do something more interesting?"

"You will need this." She handed him some tweezers. "Starting at the head, you are going to pluck every maggot and place them into the jars. I don't want you to leave any out. This is a _very_ important job."

"I'm not twelve…" L grumbled at the menial task he was given. "Actually-"

"I'm helping you, so don't complain."

They went about filling each jar. Some of the maggots were too small that they would be practically useless for what she wanted to do with them, but the two of them got every single one anyway. The body must've been dead for at least two days. A few children had found it when playing inside an abandoned warehouse. They were all probably lucky that the decomposition hadn't been further on than it already was. After D and L were done she left him alone, going to start tests on the other side of the laboratory.

"There should be a way to identify the victim with a few of these maggot and then I would only need to run the DNA through either hospital records or a police file if she has one." She went about taking various chemicals from the shelves and also getting some of the other science equipment ready.

He nodded as he brought over all three jars. "Watari will get right onto it after I inform him."

D started humming away as she cut a few of the maggots open, getting them ready to be tested. It was the only noise inside the lab as she worked. Whenever something came in her favour, she would smile a little. It helped that L had a lot of money and spent it well on everything she was able to use. The feeling of accomplishment felt good and it also was as if she had completed her degree instead of dropping out and moving.

"Do you have a list if the drugs which Beyond Birthday used?" She asked, continuing her work.

"There should be a file on my computer."

"I would like to look at it after. It seems as if the BB-copycat has been using similar drugs but I just want to make sure."

"What have you found?" L was intrigued and came even closer, as if he would be able to identify the answers himself.

"Chloroform is found in the body. That is definitely a similarity but it isn't exactly exclusive either." D pointed to one of the test tubes in a rack. "There was use of cisatracurium, a type of neuromuscular-blocking drug, which would've caused paralysis. I can only assume that she was tortured after becoming conscious again." D gave a dejected sigh. "It is quite possible that she couldn't feel much pain because of the anaesthetic properties of the chloroform, but then again they could've stopped being effective before the end…"

More hours past and D stayed in her little underground laboratory. L was still with her, even when she stopped talking and didn't try to entice conversation either. He was staring at her as she worked diligently. It was when she rubbed her eyes with her arm for the fifth time and tried to hide another yawn wanting to escape that he had enough, not being able to stay quiet anymore.

"Let's get out of here, you need to rest."

"No!" She refused adamantly. "All I need is some coffee. I _have_ to get this done as soon as possible."

"We already found the answers we need, thanks to you. You don't _have_ to do anymore. It is unnecessary and a waste of time." L stepped closer to her, careful of the chemicals she held in one hand.

"No it's not!" D tried to get out of his way as he tried to remove the test tube from her other hand. "She has family and they probably don't even know what has happened to her. I -"

L saw how much this was affecting her and awkwardly placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it a little bit. This made her stop talking immediately. "Everything you've done, I promise I'll send it to the professionals. They'll be able to get it done more quickly and you need your rest."

"Okay, fine." She gave in and went to take off all of the protective gear. He followed her and did exactly the same. D spoke again after they got into the elevator. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." L didn't want their conversation to stop but when looking at her head, his eyes widened. "Uh, you have a maggot in your hair…"

D's own eyes widened in terror and started shaking her head furiously. "What? Get it out, get it out!"

"You've been working with them all day and now you're scared?" He smirked amusedly at her change of personality when leaving the laboratory. It wasn't as professional anymore, not that she ever acted appropriately professional towards him.

"Please just get it out!"

"Stop moving and I will be able to."

She did as he said, her eyes tightly shut closed. She felt his fingers in her hair and stiffened slightly. When she didn't feel him remove them, D opened her eyes and gasped at how close they were inside the elevator. L gave her a sympathetic smile which confused her as to why he had that look.

Removing his hand, he threw something behind him. "There, it's gone now."

"Thank you, again." The elevator made a noise signalling the arrival at their floor and D quickly left to get to her suite.

"You're welcome, again." L spoke to himself in the empty elevator. He took one look behind him as he left the metal box noting how there was no tiny grub on the ground. Scratching at his messy hair, he continued to his own hotel suite. He needed to talk to Watari because he had a promise to keep.


	28. Limn

**A/N: **Enjoy! x

* * *

L is for... - 5. Limn

v. depict or describe in painting or words

"Do you understand what I'm trying to tell you?" L asked the girl in front of him even though the blank expression on her face was evident.

"Uh… well… not really…" Her eyes widened at the amount of sugar cubes he placed into his cup of tea. Was that many actually necessary? "I can believe everything you told me about Beyond Birthday, I was there so I know it is the truth." She shivered trying not to remember the horrible experience. "But all the rest seems a bit far-fetched."

"I see." He took a sip of his tea before placing it to the side of the table instead of in front of him. "Watari!" He called out suddenly. "Where are my gummy bears?"

"Right here L." An elderly man came in from what appeared to be a kitchen, holding a bowl filled with colourful tiny bear shaped lollies. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"There is only one way to find out." L pulled out a clear gummy bear and placed it in the middle of the table. "This is me. I am L, the greatest-"

D stared in disbelief at the way the supposed genius was choosing to explain everything to her again. "Okay, okay, I get it. L is a detective and has been a genius since he was a little kid. Let's just say you're not who I imagined when hearing you for the first time through a computerised synthetic voice."

"I'm not just a detective. I'm the _number one_ detective." When all she did was roll her eyes at his arrogance, he decided to question her instead. "What is it about me that didn't make you believe who I was?"

_You don't know?_ "Well…" She coughed a bit to clear her throat and looked at the almost empty sugar bowl which a few minutes ago had been overflowing. "I didn't think you would be such a sugar freak."

"Sugar freak you say…" He reached for his tea and she couldn't tell whether he was offended or not. "A working brain uses sugar as fuel. For me to think at full capacity, two things need to happen. One, I need to sit like this." He gestured to his perching on the couch. "Two, I need to digest enough sugar so my brain never runs out of fuel."

D just nodded at him, afraid that if she opened her mouth, she would end up laughing at this crazy person. "Please… carry on with your explanation then." She pointed to the lone gummy bear.

"This is BB." L lifted up a red gummy bear and placed it to the side. "He is a murderer, who we were able to catch in time before-"

"Yes, I know who he is, trust me."

"Did you also know that he was taken in at an orphanage to become a successor for me?" He asked, already knowing the answer as she shook her head. "BB left and disappeared. As soon as I became aware of the first two murders, I knew it was him, but I had no way of catching him by myself."

D didn't want to hear any more about the murderer who had played her and so picked up a purple gummy bear from the bowl along with three yellow ones. "Sticking with your explanations… the purple one is me. Former science student who ran away after her traumatic experience with Beyond Birthday and tried to start her life afresh until _the number one detective _ruined it for her." She was tempted to flick over the clear gummy bear but resisted. "These yellow ones are his three previous victims."

"Well, I would've used different colours for his victims because they weren't the same person." He reached over in attempt to take two away but his hand was slapped by D. "Or not." Picking up the gummy BB he placed it in a corner and started stacking some sugar cubes around it. "He is currently in prison with no communication to the outside world and can no longer hurt anyone else." He watched the girl in front of him moving her back as if it were itchy. "We have someone else to take into consideration now."

"The BB-copycat?" D guessed. "You were saying something about him before but I couldn't follow you properly."

"Yes, well first…" L grabbed the now empty sugar bowl and placed it over the gummy D, as well as the three gummy victims. "You ran away after first coming in contact with me. It was a smart moving leaving the cell phone inside the hospital room. Not only was I unable to contact you again, but I wasn't able to use the GPS inside it to find you either. Dead Diamond disappeared. At the time I didn't care, you weren't important and I let you restart your life using the money _I _gave you."

She laughed awkwardly at his owl-like stare, unable to keep looking into his eyes for long. A faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "About that… there's some money I've saved up in my bank account. I can get that out for you if you-"

"It's already been done. Getting back-"

"What?" D interrupted him by shouting. The glare she sent his way did nothing to the smug smile on his features. "That's my money! You had no right to touch it without my permission."

"But you just gave me permission right now. Does it matter?" The twisted triumphant grin was almost unbearable to watch, so she had to be content with just glaring at his feet.

"So I disappeared, you didn't care and I started my life anew. What changed?" She had an overview of everything on the table, but there was still one large gap on it.

"You could've stayed in your new life if someone hadn't turned up." Picking up a green gummy bear, it went in the last space on the table. "The BB-copycat killer." Two orange bears were laid down beside it. "Whoever this person is has already killed two people."

She couldn't help but be curious at this development in their conversation, now that she was on par to what L was talking about. "Are the victims similar to those of Beyond Birthday? When did the killings start? How many more do you think there will be?"

"No. The victims are random and there are no clues for the next one. This person isn't as smart as BB, or maybe his goal isn't to taunt me." Now that the table had the diagram he was wanting, L could get back to his tea. "There is one similarity though, between these killings and BB's ones. A straw doll was found at both places. It could have nothing to do with the murders and just merchandise purchased from when BB was active. The first victim was a month ago. If this follows the route BB was taking, there could be two more deaths."

He started eating the orange victim gummy bears and when D tried to move the sugar bowl covering the one of symbolising herself to eat, her hand got slapped at. "Ouch! Why can't I eat it?"

"That's because I'm going to be using you." The different possibilities of what he said didn't make her feel any better. He lifted the bowl and plopped all three yellow gummy bears in his mouth at once, there were now only four different coloured ones on the table. While chewing he started talking. "Now I was hired to only find a link between BB and the BB-copycat killer. This is where D plays her part in it."

"What do you mean? Why have you dragged me back into something I would rather have no part in?" She watched the purple gummy bear get moved to beside the clear one. "I don't care how much you pay me, I don't want to be here and you can't use me!"

"Let's say that some of the methods I use can be somewhat legally questionable. I could go to your college and get someone who probably has a lot better skills than you-"

She glared at him again, talking harshly to stop what he was saying. "I suggest you don't insult my _skills_ until you've seen them."

His eyes laughed at her and it was in that moment she realised everything he said was to get the exact reaction from her. "Fine, so we know you were once a science student. Why should I ruin someone else's schooling schedule when I can use that which I have at my fingertips." To try and show what he said, he leaned over the table. A hand reached out to her. There was just something about her hair which he wanted to touch.

"Don't come any closer!" D knocked his hand out of the way. He had leaned over so much that she was certain he would lose balance.

"I need your help." She was disappointed when all he did was fall back into the couch.

"How am I able to help you?" She was confused to why he would need her skills in the first place.

"Let me show you."


	29. Labour

**A/N: **Here's the L-shot (finally). Enjoy! x

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L is for... - 13. Labour

n. work

"Here you go." D placed on the table a large stack of papers and waited for some sort of appreciative reply, but there was none.

"Can you get me the second stack?" L sipped on his cup of tea, his little finger sticking outwards. His eyes stared up at her over the rim.

"You said you only wanted the information concerning all the crime scenes." She glared at him. "I could've gotten the second stack full of suspects along with the first one, but you didn't ask for it."

He purposely looked away from her, a slight amused expression on his features. "I changed my mind. I also want the second stack. Get it for me." He didn't bother asking it as a question this time and ordered her instead.

"Don't expect me to be your slave. I'm only doing this one more time!"

The reason that D was against grabbing the high stack of papers was because instead of them being in his bedroom, which would be the most logical place for them, they were in her laboratory. L requested that all important information be kept there, apparently keeping it all on his hard drive or keeping his bedroom door securely locked like it always was anyway, was too risky. She didn't believe in any of these excuses. D came to the conclusion that L was a sadist and he enjoys tormenting her as a pastime. It wasn't as if she'd suffered enough in the years she has live so far as it was.

It took a while for the elevator to get to the laboratory. She had to wait for a few other people to get off on their stops before she could go below ground. Inside she saw the second pile of papers as well as a third. It took her some time to think that maybe she should bring up the third pile. It would be just her luck that he would order her to come back down and get them after returning with only the second.

D looked around the laboratory for something that could help her. As if it started to glow when her eyes went on it, she saw a metal trolley which would be perfect for carrying the papers. Why hadn't she thought of it to begin with? _That's right_. She didn't think she was going to be making a second trip. With the stacks of papers successfully moved to the trolley she pushed it towards the elevator, ready for the ascending trip. She couldn't wait to see the look on L's face when she went back into his hotel suite. _Bet you didn't think I was so smart, huh, Mr Genius Detective?_

The look she was expecting from him wasn't what she saw. L was wearing a bored expression with the stick of a half sucked lollipop poking out of his mouth. He pointed to the stack of papers left on the trolley as she placed the second lot on the table. "What… are… those?" He spoke the words while munching on the rest of the sweet in his mouth.

"I brought them up as well just in case you also needed them." D said smugly, knowing that he obviously knew why she did it. There wasn't much which could be unthought-of by him.

"Well that was unnecessary. Put them back." He didn't seem fazed when she came up to him and hit the lollipop out of his mouth. "If you really want to get violent, the bedroom is over there." He lifted a finger, pointing to the bedroom door without looking up from the paper in this other hand.

"I do so much for you L and I get nothing in return!" She yelled at him and stomped off to his room forgetting what he had said. The only thing in her mind at that moment was if he wanted her to do some work, she was going to push his computer off the small table and onto the ground. _Let's see how much work he would get done without me _and_ his computer._ She was positive that it was some sort of life line for him and losing it would be harmful. Of course when reaching the door she found it locked. There was no way she could get inside unless L opened it. "Dammit L!" D cursed under her breath.

The wrapper of another sweet could be heard getting opened. This time it was one without a stick, that way she couldn't easily get it out of his mouth. "You do as much as you get paid for, you know."

"It's not about the money. I owe you my life and could work for free without complaining. I just want some appreciation _and_ some results from everything we're doing." She sat next to him on the couch and lifted up the top piece of paper on the pile closest to her.

"I can't think clearly. We need to move this couch around so it is facing north." L grabbed another lolly to put in his mouth.

D without realising it, got off the couch and was readying to push it when she finally noticed he was still crouching on it. "What are you doing? You said we were moving the couch. The sooner you can think clearly, the sooner all of this should be over and I can stop working for you."

"Did I say _we_? My bad, I meant _you_. I suppose being a female makes you weaker than I am and you would find it very troubling moving such a heavy piece of furniture." He went to take a sip of tea but the cup was empty and frowned. "When you're done moving the couch you can make me another cup of tea."

"Urgh!" She shouted while throwing her arms in the air and kicking the side of the couch. "Ouch! That hurt…" Not wanting him to get the best of her, even though he already had, she started pushing at the couch but it didn't budge at all. "The teapot is on the table. You can pour yourself another cup. Why… won't… this… move!"

L started chuckling which was an irritating sound to listen to. "I might've forgotten to mention that this couch is bolted to the floor. Well actually I did forget for a second… but watching you has really made my day."

There were so many words that could describe how she was feeling at that moment. Anger, frustration, irritation… they were all similar in meaning. He really knew exactly what to say to get under her skin and he practiced it regularly, this day being no exception. Having given up with pushing the couch and not wanting to be with near him, D did something which would hopefully make him feel as she was, without being too detrimental to what he was working on. Papers went flying all over the place as she pushed them off of the table. She wanted to flip the table but the teapot would likely smash and ruin all evidence and useful material to help solving this case.

"_You_ can clean up that mess. Don't expect any help from me." She walked toward the door, planning on going into her own hotel room, when L calling out to her stopped her steps. "I'm not helping you!"

"I don't care about that." He was holding up a piece of paper, waving it at her. "I want you to tell me if there is anything familiar about this photo."

D cringed when first seeing it. The scene was gruesome. Words were centred on the top of the paper which read: _Beyond Birthday's Third Victim - Backyard Bottomslash_. The second time she cringed was due to the name of the victim. Apparently her parents weren't the only ones to give their child such a weird name but it made her appreciate her own name a lot more. She didn't know what was supposed to be familiar about this photo. The victim was unknown to her. While missing an arm and a leg, the remaining body looked like the hands of a clock and adjusted as such.

_The knocking was loud enough to rouse her from sleep. Looking at the alarm clock it told her that midnight had just passed. She went to the door when the knocking didn't stop, readying to tell whoever was on the other side where to go. Needing to wake up early that morning, she wanted to get the rest of her sleep. The person at the door surprised her and her mouth was kept opened like the door, no sound coming out of it._

"_Rue, what are you doing here?" D didn't see what he was holding but stepped aside to let him in. He dragged a heavy looking bag across the floor and in his other hand had a bloody arm dragging along as well, a red substance trailing behind. Was it some sort of realistic prop? "W-what is that Rue? Where are you going?"_

_She followed him into the bathroom and he threw the arm in the bath. Her eyes widened in fear when slowly her still sleeping mind put together each piece of this puzzle before her. It all connected and only there was one word getting repeated in her mind. _Run_. She needed to get away from there, away from him. Why didn't she take his advice when he told her to stay with someone else while her flatmates were elsewhere? Had he planned this all out from the very beginning? She tried to get to the exit of the condo but something held her back._

"_Where do you think you're going? We're going to have some fun now."_

_What happened to his voice? Why did he sound so different? Even his laughter changed, sounding like some demented being. This wasn't the Rue Ryuuzaki she knew, this was a monster, one which lost its mind. Before she had time to scream he had a cloth to her nose and mouth just when she took a deep breath in. She felt herself going under and knew that what ever happened to her after, there was going to be nothing she could do about it._

"The DNA from the arm found in the bath of your condo matched that of Backyard Bottomslash." L took the piece of paper from her and returned it to the pile he had created from the mess.

"Why?" D asked him as tears started falling down her cheeks when her legs gave way and she hit the floor. "Why did you show me that, knowing that I would remember?"

"There is a fifty-three percent chance that you knew Beyond Birthday better than anyone from Wammy's House." He stood up and walked over to her in his hunched stature.

"Wam's-what what?"

"That's not important." L crouched back down so he was face-to-face with her. Wiping away her tears with both his thumbs, he continued. "It's likely that your link with BB might help us catch the BB-copycat killer. I am going to use you for that purpose."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Just when I thought you were going to start being nice to me."


	30. Lethal

**A/N: **Thank you to my beta **_Awen__ Sofer_**! There should be a major "Do not try this at home!" banner at the beginning of this. Enjoy! x

* * *

L is for... - 43. Lethal

adj. sufficient to cause death

D was setting up two stations on the table in her laboratory. One contained a pestle and mortar, along with an empty beaker. With the other, she had connected the Bunsen burner to the gas plug, and off to the side was an empty bowl and some tongs. She was excited because on this day she didn't need to worry about any BB-copycat killer business and could do something for herself. This was a place she could enjoy time to herself without worrying about what trouble her insomniac boyfriend was getting into.

"Hmmm…" L said while still chewing on something, giving her a shock but she chose to ignore him. "This nut tastes alright. Can I have another one?"

This instantly caught her attention and she quickly slapped at his hand before he put it back into the bowl filled with medium sized nuts. "Please tell me you didn't eat one of those."

He looked at her confused. "You're being greedy keeping them all to yourself." He went to try and grab another one again but his hand changed direction and went to his throat. "Why… is it… burning?" His legs suddenly gave way and he just managed to miss hitting his head on the edge of the table.

"That's because you ate something poisonous you idiot. That was a Barbados Nut, not meant for consumption. They don't even look like sweets, so what were you doing eating it?" She went to his side, trying to remain calm on the outside by treating him no differently, but the trembling she felt on the inside showed in her hands. "Just keep upright, don't talk unless it's to tell me you feel worse."

"I feel worse."

D ignored him knowing that he was still feeling the same. He would know exactly what she meant by _worse _when it occurred. She had to leave his side if she was going to save him since it would only take less than half an hour before he died if she did nothing but worry. Luckily her cupboard, filled with various chemicals and substances, wasn't far away. Opening the small doors, her eyes skimmed the labels looking for one small container with the words _Sodium Chloride_ on it.

"Sodium thiosulfate, sodium nitrate, sodium hydroxide… sodium carbonate, sodium bicarbonate." Her eyes widened when she repeatedly looked over the sodium compounds again, certain the one she wanted wasn't there. _Where is it? Where is it? _Her actions became frantic as time was slowly passing and L was coming closer to death. She could hear him wheezing behind her as it probably became a bit more difficult for him to breathe. "Ah hah!" D finally found it in-between potassium hydroxide and potassium iodide. She made a mental note that whenever she put away a container to put it back in its proper place from then on.

After finding the salt she filled an empty beaker with warm water and proceeded to stir in three teaspoons. D made sure it was fully dissolved, for optimum results, before bringing it over to the now barely conscious man. "Here, drink this, it will help." L didn't look up at her as he moaned in reply, either he wasn't able to or couldn't be bothered. She placed the beaker next to his mouth and tilted his head back with her hand.

As soon as the liquid touched his tongue he spat it out at her. "No… I'm not drinking that. It's nasty."

"You have to." She tried again but he kept his lips tightly closed. "You don't have much time left. Sorry, but you'll just need to forgive me when you live."

D pinched his arm really hard so that he called out in a different kind of pain. This possibly diverted him for a little while from the pain in his throat. She poured more of the salty liquid into his mouth, closing it and then stroking his throat to encourage him to swallow. Hopefully she wasn't hurting his already burning throat. It seemed to work because as soon as he swallowed the water he was on all fours again, gagging until finally he began retching up the contents of his stomach. Only when she saw the vomit covering the floor did she realise that getting a bowl or tray could've been useful, even if it would've cost a few seconds.

To stop from getting any of it on her, she went to find another beaker and filled it with cool water this time. A clean cloth was off to the side and she grabbed that as well. L was silent and disgustingly covered in his own puke. He wasn't making any noise and she couldn't even hear him breathing. It was only when she got closer that she could see the slight movement of his shoulders rising and lowering.

"Here, drink this." She repeated the same thing she said to him when offering the salty water. "It's not contaminated this time."

D had to lift his chin all the same and wiped his mouth clean before dipping her finger in the water and applied it to his lips. Unable to douse the curious temptation, his licked his lips and opened his mouth after he figured it was safe, wanting more. It didn't matter if it wasn't sweet, he was thirsty and because his throat had stopped burning he needed something to moisten it. She ran her fingers through his hair as he drank the liquid. This had been a close call and it made her wonder what L's reason was for being down in the laboratory in the first place.

His eyes were closed and he'd stopped drinking from the beaker. There was a mess surrounding them which she wasn't able to avoid and selfishly she hoped that Watari would use his internal 'L's mess' detector and clean it up for her, since he did it any other day. Not that L was prone to regurgitating his stomach contents regularly, but Watari cleaned up every other mess he made. He started groaning again and D thought that maybe the oil contained in the nut hadn't fully left his system.

"Where does it hurt?"

He shook his head. "I'm fine now. Help me stand."

D placed an arm around his waist as he put one over her shoulders. She had to stand with her back bent, which was uncomfortable for her, but was L's everyday stance whenever he stood. With his hunched over posture and lack of exercise, she was surprised he didn't suffer from elevated blood pressure levels. The way to his hotel suite took a while. He had a sluggish pace and the slow elevator ride didn't help either. When they were on their way up, suspicious stares were given to the both of them as people entered, and she could only assume it was due to the parts of them which were covered in vomit.

She pushed him into the bathroom and turned on the shower, keeping her hand under it until the spray was warm. "You should clean yourself up first. When I'm done I'll be in the lounge."

"I need help." L lifted his arms above his head the way a child would when having their shirt taken off.

D rolled her eyes at him but was unable to refuse. He used such a weak voice which was unlike him. She went over to him and starting from the bottom hem she lifted it, moving her hand upwards while flat against his chest. When the shirt was removed from him, his arms fell over her shoulders and he gave her most of his weight. She was tempted to just place his half clothed body into the shower since he wasn't willing to undress himself.

"Now you need to take off my pants." When she didn't do anything or reply, he grabbed her hand and pulled it to himself.

"L, you almost died. Now's not the time for-"

Letting go of her hand, he put a finger on her lips, stopping her from saying anymore. "You'll always save me when I make stupid mistakes right?"

"Always." D smiled against his finger. She didn't think it would be wise to say how she may not be able to save him when it comes to something more seriously life threatening than consuming one Barbados Nut. She turned to leave him in the bathroom when his calling her nickname made her pause.

"D?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." He stripped the rest of his clothes off before hoping into the shower. "Another thing…" He had to stick his head out of the shower so that she would be able to hear him properly. Also, L had tasted enough water of the refreshing and salty kind that he didn't want any more in his mouth. "Why did you have a bunch of those nuts if they're not edible?"

_Why..? _She thought about the question in her head for a few seconds. _Why did I have them? Oh…_ "Well firstly, I wanted to see if I would be able to use the oil inside them for anything useful."

"And secondly..?"

"Uh… well…" D looked away, somewhat embarrassed by what she was going to say next. "Apparently when a Barbados Nut is well roasted they're edible and I wanted to see for myself if it was true."

"Good thing I came when I did." L's face scrunched up in a grimace. "I can only imagine how charred and disgusting that nut would've turned out like."


End file.
